Worst Umpiring Decisions - Cricinfo article

[Top_Cat]

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/columns/content/current/story/321553.html

Interesting. Can think of at least two that are missing from the Australian perspective; umpire Cummerbatch giving Dean Jones given run-out in the WI in 1991 and Craig McDermott given out caught behind by Darryl Hair in Adelaide 1992 for the WI to win by one run (although it cost the Test, the howlers given NOT out against Craig McDermott earlier were almost as bad too; that match should never have gotten to be that close). Aside from those, the Aussie team has been relatively unscathed. Any other obvious ones peopel care to add or discuss?

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

An interesting article. THe one that immediately sprung to my mind - Shep's no-balls in 2000 is in there. Other ones that spring to mind are the controversies with Goodall vs the West Indies in the mid-80s (think it was Goodall) and Cooray and Robinson giving all those no-balls at Harare in 1997

 

[JBMAC]

Wally Grout in the 1960/61 series against WI.Test at WACA,Grout late cut Hall(?),his favourite shot to pace,ball flew over slips went for 4 but somehow Off bail was dislodged but umpires did not see it fall and failed to work out how it did so decision was "not out"

 

[Engle]

Read the article
Who was the one who gave Gooch not out when he s/h/b run-out vs Pakistan ?

 

[Poker Boy]

Read the article
Who was the one who gave Gooch not out when he s/h/b run-out vs Pakistan ?

Ken Palmer (it is in the Wisden report of that Test). As for bad decisions, I remember one Flintoff got on England's last tour of NZ that was so bad even the bowler (Andre Adams)was embarrsed.

 

[Goughy]

One that springs to mind and off the top of my head the details were.

1992 WC, South Africas readmission. Donald steams into Marsh in his first over. Marsh hits the cover off the ball and is caught behind. "Not Out"

 

[Richard]

Read the article
Who was the one who gave Gooch not out when he s/h/b run-out vs Pakistan ?

Ken Palmer. Not that the game would have been all that likely to have changed course had the correct decision been given.

 

[Richard]

THe one that immediately sprung to my mind - Shep's no-balls in 2000 is in there. Other ones that spring to mind are the controversies with Goodall vs the West Indies in the mid-80s (think it was Goodall)

Coupla dates mixed-up there - the Shep and Doctrove instance was in 2001, not 2000, and UIMM the Goodall vs WI controversies were in 1979\80 not the mid-1980s.

 

[Richard]

As for bad decisions, I remember one Flintoff got on England's last tour of NZ that was so bad even the bowler (Andre Adams)was embarrsed.

Haha, yeah. That series was quite the worst series of Umpiring I've ever seen, and that last Test was the one where the bad decisions made the real difference (there were less of them than in the first 2, but they ended-up being more significant). The Flintoff one is the one everyone remembers, but the one that really changed the game was Harris being given not-out when he blatantly gloved one to short-leg on 28, and ending-up with 70-odd.

And England in SL in 2000\01 was as bad in the first 2 Tests (the third, when Asoka de Silva had a rare excellent game, saw things improve markedly). The Cooray game is probably most famous because it was a Lankan Umpire giving loads of decisions in England's favour, but the previous game saw almost as many bad ones go the other way, AV Jayaprakash being poor and Peter Manuel being awful. That game contained the single worst decision I've ever seen, when Alec Stewart was given lbw - to a left-arm fingerspinner bowling over-the-wicket - off a ball that pitched well over a foot outside leg.

Of those ones in the CricInfo article, the Brearley-Nagendra one takes the piss most. The "Mr Brearley, I am very sorry. I knew it was not out, but I felt my finger going up and I just couldn't stop it," comment is in equal parts able and able.

 

[Engle]

Alan Donald to Atherton s/h/b given out ct behind, IIRC during his rear-guard stand.

Atherton mentioned it in his bio, but stood his ground, knowing fully well that he was out, but also aware that he may, in the future, be on the receiving end of a bad decision.....the glorious uncertainities of the game as he was wont to call it.

 

[Richard]

Nah, wasn't in the 185*, was during the 98* at Trent Bridge that went a long way to winning said game. This was the game before that Headingley Test that's mentioned because of Javed Akhtar in the CI article.

Nearest he came to getting out during the 185* was when he hit one at Kirsten at short-leg, but it went so fast Kirsten never had a chance of catching it unless he was incredibly lucky and it bounced straight up for him to take the rebound.

 

[pasag]

One of the worst I can remember in recent times, also at Hobart in the CB series, England Vs NZ, lbw against Andrew Strauss:

Franklin to Strauss, OUT, GOT 'IM! Slower ball from Franklin, Strauss tries to work to the on side gets a HUGE inside edge into his pad and Steve Davis raises his finger...

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Coupla dates mixed-up there - the Shep and Doctrove instance was in 2001, not 2000, and UIMM the Goodall vs WI controversies were in 1979\80 not the mid-1980s.

Easily done when you're going off your own swiss-cheese memory. I coulda sworn I was a bit older when the Goodall controversy arose, but I'm not very good with years.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Andre Botha being given out caught at short leg during that Ireland Pakistan game in the World Cup, having missed the ball by a clear nine inches, needs to be up there.

 

[Dick Rockett]

I can't really remember any specifics, but I do remember Nathan Astle being given out caught behind once when he'd missed it by a mile - what had actually touched the ball was the drawstring on his pants...

 

[Richard]

Hahahaha, I remember that well, and I was extremely annoyed by it at the time - it was this match here, the Umpire was Brent Bowden (the wicketkeeper, oddly, was Marcus Trescothick, who kept in the last 4 games of that series after Foster's keeping and batting had been abysmal), and I've never seen another instance like it.

 

[Dick Rockett]

Haha, trust you to know exactly which match it was. Cheers

 

[TT Boy]

""Mr Brearley, I am very sorry. I knew it was not out, but I felt my finger going up and I just couldn't stop it."

 

[Richard]

Honestly, though, if someone said that to me I'd have a hell of a job not punching them. Sounds funny 30 years on, but one can only marvel at Brearley's restraint. Especially as, as noted, he was 34, just coming into Test cricket and, but for Greig's betrayal in a few months' time (and thus the taking of the captaincy), might have had no Test career of note.

 

[Nishan]

Ajay Jadeja hits the cover off the ball of Sanjeeva de Silva in the one day series in 1997 in india.

The umpire takes the the dreaded finger upwards the Lankans start celebrating, but the ump(indian) proceeds to scratch his hat with that finger.

Luckily Lanka won the game, but if anyone else can recall this game please share your thoughts. I believe those were match fixing days. In that series the game on chirstmas day was abonandoed due to a bad pitch to rfersh the memory banks of this fine forum.

http://content-nz.cricinfo.com/srilanka/engine/match/64569.html