In the second Test match of the ongoing series against England at Trent Bridge, Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged lbw by Simon Taufel even as the ball appeared to go well over the stumps while Sourav Ganguly was twice at the receiving end from Ian Howell. In the second one-day international at Bristol on Friday, Sachin was given out caught behind to Andrew Flintoff when the ball seemingly had only flicked the inside of his elbow.
Admittedly, cricket is “a game of glorious uncertainties”, and the fact that even the world’s best umpire can make mistakes—Taufel says he knew he was wrong the moment he saw the Sachin replay—is proof that human frailty can be, should be, one of them. But with so many mistakes now dotting the landscape, hampering individuals and teams, the question is: has the whole concept of an ICC elite panel of umpires become a joke?
Questions: Is India in particular being targetted by poor umpiring or is it just one of those things? Should we crib about lousy decisions or should we accept them in our stride as part of the game because, after all, it is just a game? Is there any better option available to ensure better umpiring? And, please will somebody reassure us that it is just a coincidence that India gets the rough end of the stick when Sri Lankan umpires (Ashoka de Silva) and referees (Roshan Mahanama) are in the middle?
I have been wondering about it too and here is my two cents.Sometimes the umpire’s judgement is not as precise as Tebdulkar’s, for example, when he leaves a ball. Othertimes, when Tendulkar is in command and misses a ball or is surprised by it, the decision tends to go in bowler’s favour. Tendulkar had some favourable decisions too when he was struggling. These may account for some of the decisions but not all. Recenyly, there have been some studies on racial bias in American basketball. I do not know whether there are any similar studies in cricket.
Everyone knows that the whites,with a few honorable exceptions, are racist.
Ashoka de silva and roshan mahanama are pucca brown sahibs.The present generation of srilankan cricketers have no hangovers.
Cricket is such an unprofessionally managed game. When you have the best replay equipment available how can the decision to review a call be left to the umpire? A slow and dull game like baseball (in the MLB) has seven umpires – one directly behind the home plate for calling out strikes and six others to watch for runouts. Soccer has linemen and refrees plus allows the coach to fight for replays, as it happened in the infamous Zidane-Materazzi tangle. In American Football you have the coache’s challenge where the penalty for a challenging a call that is upheld on review is the loss of a timeout. Cricket still seems to rely on stupid, archaic convention. Throw out the match refree and the numerous paunchy no-hopers, invariably non-whites who will do anything to please the whites so as to be invited all the time to officiate as match refrees. Leave every decision open to review by the players themselves. If a call is challenged by the player and is upheld on replay review the umpire’s pay should be docked, say by 1%. If the player’s appeal is turned down on replay review the team that called the challenge concedes five runs. Frequent appeals by the bowling side will also cut into playing time and pose the risk of a penalty on account of a less-than-required bowling rate. This will ensure that challenges are kept to a reasonable minimum. and that umpires make it a point to review questionable calls. I hope the Indian Cricket League implements changes like these.
What the hell is the meaning of ‘Neutral Umpires’ ? Umpires means they are neutral. Its time to have trained umpires – black or white.
the gloves of the batsman needs to have a sensor or a material which sticks to the ball when the ball touches/brushes the gloves….need to have something that is agreeable to all. Come to think abt it , if gilly could play with a ball in his gloves , we surely can embed a sensor / chip which can detect when the ball touches the gloves
In do agree with vinay`s line of thinking. It is an age of advanced technology that can repair space craft in mid sky. It is high time to make the decisions most objective and transparent. Money is of no matter why not spend some thing not to leave the crucial decisions to the individual judgment. An amendment to the rules is very urgent. It should be made mandatory to consult the third umpire in case of all doubtful decisions, of course the facility of replay can also be utilized.