Sport - Cricket

Now umpires throw light on Kanpur ODI

New Delhi: Under fire for the way they conducted the Kanpur ODI, which had to be decided by the Duckworth-Lewis method, the umpires have hit back, saying they are “amazed at the lack of knowledge of their critics.”

The Kanpur ODI started late and ended early amid fading light with India winning by 16 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Umpires Russell Tiffin and Amiesh Saheba were blamed for the farcical end by a fuming British media, which said the officials’ decision to shorten the match by just one over a side after a 45-minute delay lacked common sense.

Stung by the criticism, the umpires said they were only trying to ensure as many overs as possible in the match and deserved applause for that.

“We lost just one over in spite of it being a 45-minute delay. That’s a big achievement,” one of the umpires was quoted as saying by cricketnirvana.com.

“Look, we lost 45 minutes, but we made it all up. First, we cut the lunch break from 45 to 30 minutes, then got another 15 minutes from the extra time allotted to both sides. We would have lost two overs if we went by this calculation.

“In that case the game would have got over by 4.58 instead of a closure at 5 p.m. With our calculations, at least we were ensuring that the game would go on till 5.07 p.m.,” added the official.

The umpire said he did not see anything farcical in the way the match was conducted and it could have been a full game but for a few unwarranted delays.

The official also rubbished suggestions that the lunch break should have been shortened to ensure a full game, saying the ICC rules specified a certain amount of time for lunch and that could not be violated. — PTI

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