ENGW vs INDW: Latest eagle-eyed observation puts Deepti Sharma-Charlie Dean controversy to bed

The Indian women's team clean swept England in a historic ODI series victory last week. But the team has made the news for all the wrong reasons as the match-winning dismissal of England's Charlie Dean has turned into a never-ending debate. Peter Della Penna, a renowned cricket journalist associated with ESPN, has seemingly put the debate to bed with a meticulous observation from the game.

India won the third and final ODI against England, giving a fitting farewell to the legendary Jhulan Goswami. But the game was marred by controversy after India's Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean to seal India's victory. Dean was at the non-striker's end and wandered out of the crease, Deepti saw the batter's unawareness and broke the stumps. The decision was reviewed by the third umpire, who gave the decision in favor of the Indians.

The incident received a lot of flak on social media from the English contingent, who lamented the dismissal in violation of the spirit of the game. While the incident is still hotly debated on social media platforms, Peter Della Penna made a keen observation about Dean's dismissal. The journalist's observation stated that the English batter in question had wandered out of the crease 73 times from the non-striker's end during her innings.

Final notes on this thread. Dean left her crease early 73 times from non-striker's end, including the ball she got out to. That accounted for more than 85% of all balls she started at the non-striker's end. Basically 5 out of every 6 balls in an over, there was an opportunity.

— Peter Della Penna (@PeterDellaPenna) September 26, 2022

Penna's observation wasn't limited to Dean only. He noted that none of Dean's partners were plagued by the issue and were alert at the crease, looking at the bowler's hand and leaving the crease only after the ball was released. The English batter's antics meant that she was gaining an unfair advantage throughout her innings, presenting an opportunity for Harmanpreet Kaur's side.

Aakash Chopra educates Sam Billings on the controversial dismissal

He made his statement public via a Twitter thread. Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra took note of the thread and retweeted it by tagging English cricketer Sam Billings. Billings was quite vocal with his opinions in the aftermath of the controversial decision at Lord's. The observation clearly stated that Deepti Sharma took the right step in dismissing the batter, which is within the laws, as stated by the MCC.

Hey @sambillings, this is an important thread. Might change your view on how you viewed this incident. https://t.co/n54vAcUfI1

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 26, 2022