India call on ICC to take action on umpiring

SYDNEY—Indian cricket officials have called on the sport’s world governing body to ban umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson from officiating in the rest of the series for their handling of the second test against Australia.
India lost the match by 122 runs after their celebrated batting lineup collapsed on the last day at the Sydney Cricket Ground but the tourists said the umpires were to blame for the result.
The Indian team manager Chetan Chauhan told a news conference that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) planned to lodge a formal protest with the International Cricket Council about the performances of both officials.
“I have been informed by the BCCI that they are lodging a strong protest with the ICC, so that some of the incompetent umpires do not umpire in the rest of the series,” Chauhan said.
The five-day match was dogged by a series of umpiring blunders that reignited the debate about whether the match officials should be allowed to make greater use of technology to ensure they make the right decisions.
Both teams were adversely affected by wrong calls but the most significant occurred on the first day when Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds was given not out by West Indian umpire Bucknor when the player edged a catch behind.
Symonds, who later admitted he had nicked the ball, was on 30 at the time but went on to make another 132 runs to finish unbeaten on 162.
The Indian players would not comment on the umpire’s decisions for fear of breaching the sport’s code of conduct but Chauhan said the team felt robbed. “I would like to express the sentiment of the team. The way the umpiring was, the team is agitated and upset,” he said.
“A lot of decisions have gone against us, of course a few went against the Australians also but it really affected us. “Had some of the decisions, I would say 50 per cent of the decisions, (been) received in our favour, the result would have been different.
“We’re not saying this because we have lost the game. It was for everybody to see.” The Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who was also the victim of an umpiring error when he was wrongly given out lbw in the first innings, said it was unfair to criticise the officials.
“I’m not going to sit here and talk about umpiring decisions because if I do I’ll find myself in hot water,” he told a news conference. “All I’ll say about the umpires is that they’re out there like me trying to do the best job that they can. “I didn’t get too many runs in this game, I made a few mistakes. Sure, they made a few mistakes, but that’s the game of cricket.”—Agencies