Thank God, neither umpire was an Asian!

By Rizwan Ehsan Ali

ISLAMABAD JUNE 6. Thank God, the umpires at Old Trafford were not from India or Sri Lanka. Otherwise once again Asia would have come under fire after Pakistan beat England by a massive 108 runs in a dramatic post-tea session to level the two-Test series 1-1 at Manchester.

Why is the British media blaming one of the seasoned umpires in Test cricket David Shepherd - and his West Indian colleague Eddie Nichols? Was it not the case of error of judgement as four English batsmen were given out to what appeared to be no-balls? Had Darren Gough and Dominic Cork defied Pakistan bowlers, surely the British media would have ignored all the four no-balls, just like they did in the first innings when Pakistan's Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan were given out after TV technology clearly showed that both batsmen should not have been.

But that's not something new from the British writers. There is always hue and cry when the English team loses and they give little credit to their opponents and look for excuses to justify England's defeats.

Remember, they didn't bother to blame West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor last year when Pakistan lost the Test at Karachi in near darkness. Instead they applauded the decision because England was winning when it was difficult for the Pakistan fielders to spot the ball in virtual darkness.

'Human error' disappears

Now a famous phrase `human error' has disappeared and instead everybody is calling for use of technology. We should accept that umpires were under tremendous pressure at Old Trafford. True, they should first notice whether the bowler is delivering a legitimate ball before shifting their concentration to the striker's end, but why we are not admitting that, in pressure situations such unintentional errors do occur.

Now there will be outrage all over the world after an Asian team's victory against a white team. Suggestions would come from all parts of the cricketing world that umpires in the middle should use the technology before giving the ruling.

But what will happen to those decisions in which umpires give the benefit of doubt to a batsman and the game continues. A classic example in this case is of Marcus Trescothick when Shepherd confidently said not out after TV replays clearly suggested that Saqlain's legitimate delivery had brushed the left-hander's gloves before Youhana took a splendid low catch at silly point.

The beauty of the gentlemen's game will be lost if technology supersedes the two men in white coat and black trousers. Will it not undermine the authority of the two men in the centre if they start consulting the TV crew? They are bound to commit mistakes under pressure. Sometimes it will please the Britons and in some cases they have to accept it was a human error and nothing else.

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Section  : Sport
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