Farcical Umpiring

[graphic23]

Umpiring errors will always exist. They're human. Intentionally, no umpire will ever make the wrong choice. If today was March 20th, 1999, I wouldn't have had a problem with happened yesterday. But it is 2009, and with the advent of technology, umpiring in cricket should ideally be more accurate. But, unfortunately, there seems to be confusion on what the umpire is responsible for - and it is dangerous for the sport right now. Part of the fault lies with the intense analysis done on each and every umpiring decision. It is not right for them to be judged by the commentators. The umpires see it real time, have very little response time, and do their best. Even when TV replays first came out, not many questioned the umpire's judgment. Today it has reached a level where every umpiring decision is first met with doubt, and only after slow-motion replays from every angle justify the decision, is he let off. Due to this, the umpires are less sure of their judgment, because the basic truth is that no one wants to look like a fool infront of an audience as large. I think the umpires and the players need to know that the umpires are the bosses on the field. I honestly think, that in the referral process, if an lbw is referred, only if the ball has pitched outside legstump. Apart from that, despite the numerous occasions on which batsmen have been wronged, the umpire's decision should stand. For all other types of dismissals, technology ought to be used. Coming back to the dismissal of Tim McIntosh yesterday, no matter how big a fan of Sachin I am, I felt that it had grazed the grass before coming into his hands. Mark Richardson, who was on with Ravi Shastri at the time, noticed that the seam position changed as it grazed the ground and into his hand - which to me is proof enough that it wasn't a clean catch. I might be wrong but I think it was unclear enough to give the batsman notout. In Sachin's defense, if he'd felt that the catch wasn't cleanly taken, he would have consulted with the umpires. He was hurt immediately right away and was bleeding. Fine. What about the main umpire? How is it possible for Ian Gould to decide whether the catch was taken cleanly? There was no ill-fated 'agreement' between the captains to take the catcher's word. The only reasoning I can think of is trusting Tendulkar's reputation, which is wrong. Then, my question is what was Simon Taufel doing? He is the squareleg umpire, and usually is positioned where he is to judge wicketkeeper catches and catches in the slips, when they dive forward, which is what happened yesterday. Ian Gould shouldn't have raised the finger, and Taufel ought to have stopped him. There is nothing wrong in one umpire disagreeing with another to make sure the correct judgment comes out. It would've held up the match for about 2 more minutes, but so what? Such umpiring errors are overshadowing the excellent play that is being conducted by the players on the field. So why am I making a new thread and complaining even though I didn't make one when Sachin got out [sideways 8] times due to umpiring errors? Because Sachin Tendulkar is the one man (or God) whose place is guaranteed in the side. For every one person who'd attack Sachin for getting a low score, we have another 1 million who support him and the selection committee wouldn't dare drop him a mistake thats not his. However, the man affected yesterday was Tim McIntosh. New Zealand are a country of 4 million people who have very limited resources for their cricket team, and need to choose the most efficient person for every spot. He is a young player, coming into the side. He was unable to score well in the first innings. NZ Cricket can't afford to give as much time to new players as we can. And a few more of such errors, and we could potentially even see him dropped - through no fault of his own. And what was worse is that, 1.5 hours before that, Ryder had thought he had caught Dhoni in a similar fashion, and Dhoni stood his ground. And the correct decision was made. But here, with Ian Gould raising his finger so early, it probably would've been dissent had McIntosh stood his ground and made sure that Sachin caught the ball on the full and not on the bump, as it seems right now. So many things against the player in this case, and it is unfair, and these repeated farcical errors are a blot on this sport that I really love and enjoy. My main complaint is that ICC is being run by a bunch of incompetent idiots who wouldn't even manage to host a backyard sale without losing half their property. It is high time that the umpires be explained of what is within their right to do, and what they can refer upstairs, and to tell TV commentators that it would be better for the sport if they didn't attack every decision so often. [/rant]

[nikred]

Bucknor would be proud of you.:((

[graphic23]

Bucknor would be proud of you.:((

:((:hmmmm2:

[fineleg]

Your point about needing more technology is correct, and fully support it. However, I dont appreciate this being expressed only when this rare occasion of 50-50 decision favored India. Countless are the times (literally countless) when India has been at the receiving end of poor decisions. Just wait for a few more days, you will get a paltry poor decision against India. This is also why I'm against Indian players walking (on close decisions) when they are out. Just stay at the crease, and let the umpire give you out. They have given you out so many times when you were not out. But your uber point is correct - ICC needs to wake up.

[graphic23]

Your point about needing more technology is correct, and fully support it. However, I dont appreciate this being expressed only when this rare occasion of 50-50 decision favored India. Countless are the times (literally countless) when India has been at the receiving end of poor decisions. Just wait for a few more days, you will get a paltry poor decision against India.

Why? I made myself clear in the post. If Sachin or Dhoni get a bad decision, they are not kicked out of the team. They are given space to compensate for it. Teams like NZ can't afford their youngsters being wronged so early in their careers. It doesn't matter whether you were right or wrong, if you're not making runs, you can't be in the team. And I think its wrong if I extrapolate this to a broader spectrum, then it could potentially affect the player's career.

This is also why I'm against Indian players walking (on close decisions) when they are out. Just stay at the crease, and let the umpire give you out. They have given you out so many times when you were not out. But your uber point is correct - ICC needs to wake up.

I said this in the match thread but I repeat myself. It is morally wrong to stay at the wicket if you know you nicked the ball. I don't care what other teams do. I want my captain and my idol to set an example that if you nick it you walk. My team is good enough not to nick it - they don't need extra lives. I don't want to give any reason for any other person or team to think that the Indians cheat. And just as a side note, I feel kinda ashamed everytime I bring up an umpiring error. We have so many people who follow cricket, our cricket board makes up for > 60% of revenue for ICC but we are unable to get even one person the elite panel. Its a pathetic state of affairs.

[Ram]

Good OP, but I am not exactly sure about the part where you talk about how NZ has a popln of just 4 million and McIntosh could be dropped etc. It doesnt matter how many people a country has or what the profile of the cricketer is, the intent should be to get the decision right, within existing rules and regulations. As far the catch is concerned, I disagree with the OP and feel it was cleanly taken. Because its a 2-D image, the camera can never give the depth 'perspective' of where the ball was, w.r.t to the ground. Just seeing the replays, I feel Sachin jammed his fingers underneath the ball.

[Holysmoke]

> 150

[graphic23]

Good OP, but I am not exactly sure about the part where you talk about how NZ has a popln of just 4 million and McIntosh could be dropped etc. It doesnt matter how many people a country has or what the profile of the cricketer is, the intent should be to get the decision right, within existing rules and regulations.

I agree. I was merely making the point that it has a more significant effect if it happens to McIntosh than someone from India or Australia.

As far the catch is concerned, I disagree with the OP and feel it was cleanly taken. Because its a 2-D image, the camera can never give the depth 'perspective' of where the ball was, w.r.t to the ground. Just seeing the replays, I feel Sachin jammed his fingers underneath the ball.

I don't think you can actually be sure. If the ball was taken cleanly, the seam wouldn't turn a split second before the catch was 'completed'. Obviously, it would be great if the catch is taken cleanly and Sachin knows but the camera can't tell - but based on the >475098723489 replays yesterday, it seems that it may have grazed the ground before Sachin got his fingers in. And he broke his nail, which indicates that it hit him on the full, so maybe it hit a part of the ground and his finger on the full? I don't know but all this comes from so many replays - there was no way Ian Gould could've decided this from 25+ yards away.