Watch: Mayank Agarwal given out despite minimal appeal, DRS shows it was a big mistake
There has been widespread contention within the cricketing fraternity over the standard of umpiring in recent times. There have been many debatable rulings taken by the on-field umpires during the ongoing Ashes Test, the India tour of West Indies and also the World Cup. Former cricketers have lambasted the quality of umpires, voicing for action to be taken by the ICC vis-a-vis the matter.
In the middle of those decisions, another act of poor umpiring has surfaced. During the ongoing India tour of West Indies, umpire Richard Kettleborough gave Mayank Agarwal out despite very little appeal from the bowler Kemar Roach. As a matter of fact, Roach looked surprised when the umpire raised his finger.
Mayank Agarwal tried to play Roach’s delivery but ended up missing it. It was just a hopefull shout from the bowler which was accepted by the umpire. Mayank was surprised by the decision and quickly went upto Virat Kohli at the non-striker end to discuss. India opted for the DRS and the replay showed a big gap between the bat and ball. The decision was altered and Mayank went on to amass 55 runs.
Virat Kohli and Mayank Agarwal went on to score fifties as India posted 263/5 at the end of day one of the second Test. Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant are batting on 42 and 27 respectively.
Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting had asked the ICC to do away with neutral umpires rule after a spree of poor decisions in the first Test of the Ashes.
— Mohit Das (@MohitDa29983755) August 30, 2019
“I would like to think the game has come far enough now for the game to not have neutral umpires,” Ponting told Cricket Australia’s website (cricket.com.au).
“People might say that with all the technology we’ve got now, it doesn’t matter that much. But it’s not a good spectacle when pretty obviously wrong decisions are made. It’s already been spoken about a lot among the players,” he said.
“If it’s not brought up, I’ll make sure it’s added to the agenda. Surely (English umpire) Richard Kettleborough and the like would want to be umpiring the best series.
“The best umpires can end up missing out on all the big tournaments.
“It could force umpires into retirement a bit early.”
First published: 31 August 2019, 15:51 IST