'Undermined by Incompetent Umpiring'
(In The Papers Today: Cricket writers take the ICC to task for turning a blind eye to the poor performance of its 'elite' umpiring panel...)Veteran West Indies cricket writer Tony Cozier has broken his silence on the quality of umpiring in the just-concluded Test series against Australia, arguing that the Caribbean side was "undermined" by "incompetent umpiring."
"Four times, they were victims of mistaken decisions by two members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) elite panel, a description that has come to have an increasingly hollow ring to it," Cozier wrote in a column syndicated around the region.
Cozier also took a swipe at the incessant and aggressive appealing by the Aussie bowlers and fielders, which was on display when Ramnaresh Sarwan was given out lbw to a ball that was clearly missing leg-stump.
He noted that umpire Billy Bowden raised his crooked finger in answer to Australian appeals that have become "well-orchestrated, persuasive showmanship."
On Dwayne Smith's bat/pad lbw decision, Cozier again wrote dismissively of the fielding side, describing the appeal and subsequent celebration as "shameless Australian whoops of joy."
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On the FoxSports.com Web site, columnist Andrew Ramsey also takes aim at the umpiring, arguing that the four errors that went against the West Indians "could have been easily clarified by a cursory referral to slow motion video replays."
"In a professional era when careers can turn on a single decision and players are increasingly brought to account for questioning umpires' pronouncements, it seems ludicrous not to employ all means available to get it right wherever possible," Ramsey wrote.
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Robert Craddock, in the Herald Sun, argues that the bad umpiring decisions were a dagger through the heart of a West Indies side that was already struggling to compete with the mighty Aussies.
Like Cozier, Craddock used the word "undermining" to describe the effect of the errors on the young West Indians. "[The West Indies'] best efforts were undermined by three poor verdicts to Ramnaresh Sarwan, Denesh Ramdin and Dwayne Smith."
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Aussie captain Ricky Ponting believes the umpiring errors are a result of the increased workload of the ICC's elite panel of seven umpires.
"I think one of the major problems (with umpiring standards) might just be the amount of umpiring these guys are doing," Ponting said. "It would help umpiring standards if there were more. If there's only seven guys doing it, if they could have a few weeks break between Tests and between series and be able to freshen up as the players like doing I'm sure it would be beneficial."
The panel, which includes Billy Bowden (New Zealand), Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Steve Bucknor (West Indies), Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Australia's Darrell Hair, Daryl Harper and Simon Taufel, was founded in 2002 in an effort to ensure only the world's best umpires would officiate in Tests.
However, the vast amount of Test cricket currently played means that the umpires do not always get enough rest from the physical and mental strain of top level cricket, Ponting argued.
""There's only seven umpires on the international panel, we're always talking about the amount of cricket we're playing, someone's got to umpire those games I guess and there's only seven there. I'm sure it'd be long hard hours and long hard tours, so I'm sure that's something that could be looked at."
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During a post-match speech, West Indies batting champion Brian Lara appeared to take a diplomatic swipe at the Australians, calling on the world's best team to play the game in the best spirit.
"To the Australian cricket team, my battles with you over the years have been the fiercest, it's been good competition. Today you stand as the best playing team in the world and you have the respect of all the countries that play cricket in the world."
"I hope that you will see it as your responsibility to ensure that the game is played and is continued to be played in the best spirit as it has been at the moment," Lara said.
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Despite the 3-0 result, West Indies skipper Shiv Chanderpaul thinks there are "plenty positives" that can be taken from the series loss.
In what has become a familiar speech, Chanderpaul said: "We can take those positives home and use on our next tour. Once we get it right things will happen for us."
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In Guyana, a century from middle order batsman Narsingh Deonarine helped the home side to what CMC describes as a fighting against Barbados on the final day of their Carib Beer-sponsored match.
The left-handed Deonarine frustrated Barbados for the entire fourth day to hit an undefeated 136 as Guyana, facing a first innings deficit of 153, closed on 309 for nine when the match was called with 15 overs remaining.
Deonarine batted for eight hours, faced 366 balls and counted 14 fours on the way to his fourth first-class century which earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.
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The Jamaica/Leewards encounter went down to the wire and ended in a thrilling draw.
Set 216 to win after the Leewards were dismissed for 242, Jamaica lost wickets steadily before finishing at 212 for nine in fading light.
With the Leewards searching desperately for the final wicket, CMC reports that umpires Vincent Bullen and Cecil Fletcher offered batsmen Odean Brown and Jerome Taylor the chance to go off because of the darkening conditions and they accepted.
In the Jamaica Observer, Garfield Myers reports that Jamaica opted for a draw because Brown was struggling to hold the bat because of an injury.
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It took several days and a few reminders but the WICB has finally issued a public note congratulating Brian Lara's record-breaking achievement.
A brief statement posted on the WindiesCricket.com Web site quotes WICB president Ken Gordon as saying: "We knew it would happen and remain confident that there are many more to follow. Congratulations from all at the WICB."
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