10 most controversial umpiring decisions of all time

Of all jobs, umpiring is arguably the toughest on a cricket field. Cricket isn't a slow sport and hence the action takes play quickly leaving the umpire little time to make his judgment.

Also unlike other sports, cricket matches stretch for a long duration and it is challenging for a human to keep his/her concentration intact. Hence, umpiring mistakes are common and an occasional error is digested without any fuzz by the players and the spectators.

But at several times the enormity of the errors committed by umpires has shocked the cricket world. On various occasions, umpires made decisions that were beyond logic and sense.

Also, some decisions ended up altering the fate of the contest, and hence were scrutinized immensely.

Let us take a look at ten such decisions that were controversial and became a talking point in cricket.

#10. Stuart Broad given not-out- vs Australia, 2013, at Nottingham

Australia enjoyed an upper hand in the first Ashes Test of 2013 courtesy of an effective first-inning lead and England's batting collapse in the second innings added to their dominance.

Ian Bell and Stuart Broad tried arresting the damage and stitched a vital partnership. Just when Broad looked set, Ashton Agar, Australia's debutant spun a delivery enough to trouble Broad.

The English batsman tried cutting the ball but could only find an edge which kissed the wicket-keeper's gloves and settled into the hands of Michael Clarke, standing at first slip.

All Australian players started celebrations as they had made the decisive break-through but to their utter disappointment, the umpire Aleem Dar was unmoved.

Dar failed to see the edge which was clearly visible and Broad was lucky to get a reprieve. This decision cost Australia dearly as the left-hander added 28 more runs before departing and the visitors lost the match by 14 runs.

#9. Geoff Lawson not adjudged hit-wicket, vs West Indies, 1984

In November 1984 at Brisbane, Geoff Lawson was arguably the luckiest man. Michael Holding's terrific pace pushed Lawson back in his crease and the Aussie batsman ended up breaking the wickets with his feet. The West Indies fielders appealed for hit-wicket but the square leg umpire gave his dissent and walked to the crease to pick the bails.

In the next over, the ordeal was repeated. Lawson once again went back and ended up breaking the wickets. Once again the Umpire nodded his head and resumed the game after setting the stumps right.

The West Indies fielders protested in vain, but Lawson didn't mind the umpire's judgment.

#8. Ramnaresh Sarwan runout but not out, vs Zimbabwe, 2013

In the 31st over of West Indies' innings against Zimbabwe, Ramnaresh Sarwan drove Chibhaba towards mid-off and set for a quick run.

To Sarwan's surprise the man at extra cover, Chikabva was too quick and collected the ball in no time. And to make matters worse for the batsman, he made a direct hit at the non-striker's end.

Sarwan hadn't anticipated this agile fielding effort and when the ball crashed on to the stumps, he was well short of the crease. But the drama was yet to unfold.

Zimbabwe fielders appealed for the run-out, the umpire said not-out and the game resumed. Nobody from the field protested against the decision while the members of Zimbabwe team management couldn't believe their luck as they watched the blunder with horror in the replays.

#7.Rob Bailey given out, vs West Indies, in 1989

Can excessive appealing change an umpire's decision? Ask Rob Bailey, as he found that out the tough way against West Indies in 1989.

Bailey was facing Curtly Ambrose when one delivery sneaked through his defence and went past the pads to the wicket-keeper. There was a definite sound and West Indies players went up appealing for a catch.

However, the umpire Barker thought the sound came as the ball kissed the pads and had almost turned down the appeal when Viv Richards came charging down from the slip region.

Intimidated by Richards' aggressive appeal, Barker changed his mind and raised the finger.

#6.Technology surprises Usman Khawaja in 2013 at Manchester

To those who think technology can wipe out all mistakes from cricket, Usman Khawaja's dismissal against England in the Manchester Test in 2013 is a must-watch.

The left-hand batsman tried an expensive drive against Graeme Swann but missed it completely thanks to the massive turn. However, the English fielders went up in joy as there was a sound and the umpire too agreed to the home team and raised his finger.

Without losing any time, Khawaja sought help from the third umpire and asked for a review. The replays indicated that there was space between the bat and the ball and the sound came before the ball reached the bat. The replays suggested that the bat hit the pad and the hotspot also failed to recognize any sound.

The evidence favoured the batsman but Kumar Dharmasena, the third umpire, decided to surprise everyone and asked the on-field umpire to uphold his decision.

In Khwaja's case, even technology failed to correct the wrong decision.

#5. Tendulkar 'Shoulder before wicket', vs McGrath, Adelaide Oval, 1999

Sachin Tendulkar arrived at the crease at Adelaide Oval in the first Test in 1999 with India tottering at 24 for three down in a chase of 396 runs in the fourth innings.

Steve Waugh set the field for a bouncer and brought a man at forward short-leg. Glenn McGrath responded to the captain's ploy and banged a few short deliveries. Tendulkar was happy to leave those deliveries for the wicketkeeper to collect.

But the third ball of the nine over didn't rise as much as Tendulkar expected it to. The delivery by McGrath landed in the middle of the Adelaide pitch and the Indian batsman, thinking of it as a bouncer ducked.

However, the ball didn't rise and crashed on Tendulkar's shoulder who had ducked low in front of his stumps. All Australians went up for an LBW appeal and the umpire Daryll Harper raised his finger.

It was a freak dismissal as Tendulkar was given out 'shoulder before wicket'.

#4.BC Cooray's nightmare at Kandy in 2001, Sri Lanka vs England

In the Kandy Test in 2001, BC Coorey's errors were so enormous that the spectators made banners to ridicule him and he had to be given police protection while leaving the ground. And the Test also marked the end of his umpiring career.

Coorey turned down an LBW appeal against Mike Atherton during England's first innings and then helped Nasser Hussain in making a match-winning hundred as he refused to accept at least three appeals which could have easily sent back Hussain the pavilion. Later he also denied Murali a caught and bowled opportunity against Graeme Hick.

However, the biggest mistake he committed was to give Jayasuriya out when he was caught by Graham Thorpe on a bump ball. The decision made the Sri Lankan batsman outrageous and the crowd went berserk.

#3. The umpiring blunders in Sydney 2008, India vs Australia

No other Test in the modern era saw as many umpiring errors as the Sydney Test between India and Australia.

The second Test of the series witnessed blunders of various enormities and on most occasions, the visitors were at the receiving end. Things started falling apart from the first day itself.

There were total 11 controversial decisions in the Test and eight went against the Indians. One of the biggest errors was committed by Steve Bucknor when he failed to see Andrew Symonds edging Ishant Sharma behind the wicket.

During India's second innings, Rahul Dravid was given caught behind when the ball hadn't touched his bat.The most controversial decision was Ganguly's wicket in the second innings. The left-hander was caught by Clarke in the gully region but the replays showed the ball had bounced before Clarke took the catch.

Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson were criticized heavily for their conduct of the game and judgment.

#2. Ross Emerson no-balling Muralitharan in 1999

After being reported for suspect bowling action in 1995, Muttiah Muralitharan went through rigorous tests and got his action cleared by the ICC.

The off-spinner made several changes in his bowling action and ensured that he came clean in the tests organized by ICC. After making the changes, Murali came back to cricket and was part of the Sri Lankan team that toured Australia in 1999.

However, in the ODI at Adelaide, the Sri Lankan spinner was no-balled by umpire Ross Emerson for his bowling action. This decision was challenged by the Sri Lankan skipper and the team management who stood tall behind the off-spinner.

Emerson, on the other hand, stuck to his views and regarded Murali as a chucker.

#1. Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove awarding the match to England, 2006.

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The fourth Test between England and Pakistan was moving smoothly until the fourth day when the umpires charged Pakistani team with charges of ball tampering and awarded five penalty runs to the home team.

The decision didn't go down well with the visitors. The Pakistani team under the leadership of Inzamam-ul-Haq pleaded not guilty and refused to accept the charges. But the umpires were in no mood to revoke their decision.

To express their dissent over this decision, Pakistan refused to take the field after the tea interval. The umpires waited for 30 minutes and awarded the Test match to England stating Pakistan had fortified the match.

The incident created massive controversy in the cricketing world and ICC was forced to remove Hair from the elite panel of umpires.