Saturday, January 5, 2008

Umpiring India vs Australia @SCG(2008)

Huh!!!Umpiring at its worst..ya what else do u expect when u have Steve Bucknor given the job..Damn it!!!Decisions can change the course of the game...Are they really mistakes or purely intentional..doesn't seem mistakes to me when it happens against one side for the majority of times..Crap!!!players can't show reactions against those morons..What have the umpires gottu lose..but for players,its their careers,pride of their country...Its high time ppl should raise their voices against the indignity being caused to the game..How much should players like Sachin and Dravid take..Gentlemen in the true sense these 2 are..apart from being role models for their cricketing talent,they can be admired for their behavior...Yes that apart..let me just talk through some rough decisions that happened through what i call one of the disgraced test matches in terms of umpiring..

1.Ponting edged a ball from ganguly down the legside and dhoni caught the ball off the ground unlike some australians who touch the ground with the ball (may be some superstition )but the umpire probably had his Ipod on not to hear the edge and must have been sleeping away to glory behind the sun glasses not to see the edge..

2.Then ponting was given LBW for a ball which he edged onto his pads..ponting cribbed as if someone had cheated him his meal..ya but it was very decent for the referee(yes it was innocence and dignity personified by ponting)..Only decision against australia..

3.Symond's stumping..hey come on i cannot blame the third umpire for this..may be he was watching porn on his tv and suddenly he had to make a decision..he might have pressed one of the buttons or he might have been shown some other replay by the aussie cameras..

4.Then Symond's got an edge off Ishant's bowling..hey come on i and the commentators and indian players saw and heard the edge..how can the umpire,may be he hasn't cleaned his ears for ages..and how can he see an edge..fine..why is he supposed to see the edge...oh he is the umpire... is he???Ridiculous!!!yeah Ishant trying to aspire his career by getting batsmen out and showing his disappointment at the wrong decision is infact ridiculous for the referee..of course he doesn't have the right to do so cos he doesn't hail from australia.

I have lost count on the number of decisions given in the favour of australians during their batting..

5. Dravid just padded a ball to gilchrist,aussies started appealing and buckor gave it out...was it LBW or caught behind???commentators didn't have a clue i don't think even dravid did..Important wicket and aussies wanted to get it somehow,no matter how cheap they might have to go..Gilchrist considered one of the honest guys of cricket appealed so convincingly that any umpire could have been fooled,then obviously foolish bucknor did get fooled..

6.Thank God!!!This wasn't given..Dhoni's gloves probably kissed the ball and it flew in the air..ponting dived across and took the catch and with the ball on ground as support stood up and started appealing..grow up ponting,this isn't gully cricket and none will be given out for bump catches..oh i am sorry bucknor is the umpire..Bad luck ponting..he was thoroughly disappointed..

7.Ganguly who was batting magnificently edged a ball to slip..clarke picked it up from the ground and appealed..(catching the ball by touching the ball to ground is a superstition) ..benson just looked at the innocent slip fielder ponting for assistance and he gave it as out..i have seen umpires taking assistance from the square leg umpire but ..fine cut the crap...

1 comment:

neo said...

As an indian i agree with most of ur points.But this umpiring issue has its roots in a very age old problem faced by indian cricket namely,"When should u retire from the game?" As u have descibed in ur other blog abt Indian legends,the same applies to steve Bucknor.He was a very good umpire when he was in his prime in the 1995-2000.Bucknor who was to retire after the last world cup,decided to continue umpiring.This simply led to one bad decision after another in the matches he umpired.Now he has lost the reputation he had gained as a reputed umpire.
The same case is for our "Indian Legends"(Ganguly,dravid,laxman & Tendulkar). I have nothing against them.They are great players.But they are facing the same problem Bucknor is facing.They are getting old.They are not able 2 perform at their best in most games.It does not mean they r not trying.Now they have to play out of their socks just to perform at the level they used to perform with ease a couple of years ago.My point is before they have a great fall like Bucknor ,they should accept that the fact that they have passed their prime.With their enormous experience and steely determination they may manage to make a comeback(like ganguly), but they never be able 2 perform at the level they used to.