Joe Root survived a plumb LBW at Trent Bridge after Australia's DRS review returned umpire's call — with only a fraction of the ball clipping the stumps. Root went on to score 130 and England won the match to retain the Ashes.
The 2015 Ashes was one of the most one-sided in recent memory. England, under Alastair Cook, had lost the 2013-14 series in Australia 5-0, which led to a significant rebuild of the English batting lineup. By the time the 2015 series came around, England had found a new rhythm with Joe Root emerging as their premier batsman.
Australia arrived in England having won back-to-back Ashes series (2013-14 and 2013), with Michael Clarke as captain. However, Clarke was struggling with injury, and Australia's batting depth was being questioned. England had won the first two Tests and lost the third — arriving at Trent Bridge for the 4th Test needing one more victory to retain the Ashes.
The DRS system was in full operation for this series, which meant teams could review on-field decisions using ball-tracking, Hot Spot, and Snicko. This made every challenged decision visible in detail to the viewing public — including the umpire's call protocol, which remained controversial.
England's batting in the 4th Test was crucial. Australia knew that if they could dismiss England cheaply in the first innings, they could stay in the series and potentially force a decider. Their bowling attack — Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood — was capable of bowling England out on any surface.
Joe Root, batting in his customary number three position, was the player Australia most wanted. He had been England's most consistent performer through the series, contributing vital runs and frustrating Australian bowlers for extended periods.
The LBW appeal that became controversial came from an Australian seam bowler who hit Root on the pad with a delivery that looked, to all eyes in the ground, plumb. Root was beaten, the ball struck him on the pad, and the umpire gave it not out. Australia immediately took a DRS review.
The incident centred on the umpire's call protocol within the DRS system. An Australian bowler — the delivery was a seam-up ball that cut back into Root — struck the England batsman on the front pad. Umpire Aleem Dar gave it not out on the field.
Australia reviewed. The ball-tracking showed the delivery was hitting the stumps — but only just. The percentage of ball impact on the stump was fractionally under the threshold required to overturn an on-field not-out decision. Under DRS rules, when less than 50% of the ball is hitting the stumps — a zone known as 'umpire's call' — the on-field decision stands regardless of whether technology suggests the ball was hitting.
In real-time viewing, this looked deeply unsatisfactory. Replays clearly showed the ball was hitting the stumps — the tracking showed red — but the percentages and the on-field ruling combined to keep Root at the crease. Australia lost their review and were unable to challenge further.
Root went on to score 130, a crucial innings that set up England's total. England won the match by an innings — their third victory of the series — and retained the Ashes. The umpire's call moment was replayed repeatedly in analysis, with cricket pundits divided on whether the rule served justice or subverted it.
The debate over umpire's call was not new in 2015, but Root's reprieve — in a crucial Ashes match with the urn at stake — brought it to its highest-profile point yet. Many felt that if technology showed the ball hitting the stumps, the batsman should be out. Others argued the umpire's call rule was necessary to preserve respect for on-field decisions given the margin of error in ball-tracking.
Australian bowler hits Root on the pad — appears plumb to all observers
Umpire Aleem Dar gives it not out on the field
Australia take a DRS review — ball-tracking shows the ball hitting the stumps
Umpire's call applied — fractional contact means on-field not-out stands
Australia lose their review; Root continues batting
Root goes on to score 130 — England win by an innings and retain the Ashes
Series context
England lead 2-1 going into 4th Test at Trent Bridge; Ashes retention within sight
Root batting
Australian bowler hits Root on pad — appeal upheld by replays but not out on field
DRS review
Australia review; ball-tracking shows ball hitting stumps; umpire's call applied — not out stands
Australia's review gone
Australia cannot challenge further — Root survives and continues batting
Root 130
Root completes his century and reaches 130 — England gain full control
Match result
England win by an innings — Ashes retained 3-1 at this stage
“The ball was hitting the stumps. We could all see that. The umpire's call rule needs to be looked at.”
“I got a bit lucky there — I'll be honest about that. But the rule is the rule and I just had to make the most of it.”
“Umpire's call is the most absurd thing in cricket. The technology says out. The batsman should be out.”
“The margin of error in ball-tracking is real. Umpire's call exists for a reason. If you remove it, you introduce different injustices.”
Australia's frustration after the match was palpable. Michael Clarke, knowing this might be his last Ashes as captain, had watched a technology-confirmed hitting be saved by a technicality in the DRS rules. Australia felt they had been doubly wronged — first by an incorrect on-field decision, then by a protocol that prevented the technology from correcting it.
The umpire's call controversy generated enormous media discussion. Cricket writers and former players were split — some arguing the rule was essential to preserve umpiring authority given imperfections in tracking technology, others arguing it was absurd to have technology showing a ball hitting the stumps and the batsman walking away not out.
England went on to win the 2015 Ashes 3-2, making the Trent Bridge result crucial in the final count. Australia took the 5th Test at The Oval but it was too little too late.
Technically correct application of DRS umpire's call protocol, but deeply unsatisfying — technology showed ball hitting stumps, yet Root survived. The incident became central to ongoing debate about whether the umpire's call threshold is calibrated appropriately.
The 2015 Trent Bridge umpire's call incident became one of the defining examples in the long-running debate about DRS reform. It led to the ICC reviewing the thresholds for umpire's call and triggered widespread discussion about whether the protocol was calibrated correctly.
Joe Root's 130 in a match where England retained the Ashes will always be remembered in the context of that controversial reprieve. It did not diminish England's achievement, but it left a mark on Australian memories of the series — another 'what if' to sit alongside other controversial DRS moments.
Australia vs New Zealand
1 February 1981
Greg Chappell instructed his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball underarm along the ground to prevent New Zealand from hitting a six to tie the match.
Australia vs India
7 February 1981
Sunil Gavaskar was given out LBW to Dennis Lillee off a ball that clearly hit his bat first. He was so furious he tried to take his batting partner Chetan Chauhan off the field with him.
Australia vs India
2-6 January 2008
One of the most controversial Tests ever — terrible umpiring decisions, racial abuse allegations, and India threatening to abandon the tour.