Close but not close enough: 5 biggest umpiring blunders of 2013

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After the entire furore over umpiring, DRS and its use in the Ashes in England in 2013, umpires have come into the spotlight a lot more. When umpires get decisions right, they don’t get enough praise, but one wrong decision is enough to get an umpire an absolute bashing. Here’s 5 of the worst moments that umpires have had in 2013.

1. Sachin Tendulkar, LBW

Sachin Tendulkar in his farewell series at a manic Eden Gardens. The stage was set for The Master to provide a masterclass. Instead, it was cut short by a poor decision from Nigel Llong. A doosra from Shane Shilllingford completely bamboozled Sachin, and it struck him high on his thigh pad, on his back leg. The ball would’ve gone well over the stumps. But, much to the dismay of the crowd at The Eden, Llong’s finger went up.

As replays later proved, the ball was missing the stumps comfortably. Llong was given an uncomfortable time after that by the crowd, with most of them wanting their favourite son to bow out on a high.

2. Jonathan Trott, LBW

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The first Test of the Ashes series in England, and after a pretty even first innings, England had come out to bat a second time. Mitchell Starc bowled one of his trademark in-swinger, and struck Trott on the pads. The LBW appeal was turned down by on-field umpire Aleem Dar, but Michael Clarke opted to review the decision. Replays suggested a deviation immediately after the ball had hit the bat, but there was no mark on Hot Spot. There was enough doubt in it not to overturn the umpire’s decision, but much to even Dar’s surprise, Trott was given out, cue a major controversy.

3. Stuart Broad, Caught

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An incident, which is now infamous. As Ashton Agar bowled a short delivery on off stump, Broad shaped to cut, and got a massive edge that deflected off Brad Haddin’s gloves to Michael Clarke at first slip. Aleem Dar didn’t see the massive edge, and Broad stayed on. Australia couldn’t review the decision, as they had used up both their opportunities to use DRS incorrectly. There was a major debate that followed, as to whether Broad should have walked or not, but he didn’t, and he stayed on and scored some useflu runs that were priceless in England’s push for a victory in the first Test of the Ashes.

4. Usman Khawaja, Caught

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Usman Khawaja was beaten by a delivery from Graeme Swann, and Matt Prior safely caught the ball. Khawaja was given out, and decided to review the decision immediately. The replays were pretty inconclusive, and although there appeared to be a sound, it was before the ball passed the bat, maybe the sound of bat hitting pad. There was nothing conclusive on HotSpot as well. However, Kumar Dharmasena, the TV Umpire, decided to uphold the on-field call, maybe due to the fact that there wan’t enough evidence to overturn the on-field call.

5. Joe Root, Caught

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How can an Ashes series pass without a controversy? In the ongoing test at Perth, an innocuous delivery from Shane Watson beat Joe Root, and Brad Haddin collected the ball. Root was given out on the field by Marais Erasmus, and went up for a review, seeming certain that he didn’t hit it. Again, no deviation, nothing on HotSpot, no real evidence on Real-Time Snicko. But, Root was still given out on the grounds that there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the on-field call.

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Edited by Staff Editor