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- Published: October 18, 2023 15:00
New Delhi: The former Pakistani cricketer and captain Salman Butt have shown his displeasure over the level of umpiring done at the ICC World Cup 2023. He believes that the umpiring at events of this calibre should be top-notch so that it doesn’t hurt any team in the long run.
Players such as David Warner, Steven Smith, Jhonny Bairstow and Marcus Stoinis have openly opposed some of the decisions given against them.
What did Salman say?
Salman, while showing his concerns over the umpiring decisions, said, “The umpiring hasn’t been up to the mark in the World Cup—very pathetic decision-making. The likes of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow made marginal decisions. During the India-Pakistan game, Mohammad Rizwan was given out; luckily, he took a review, and the decision was overturned. Then, Babar Azam could have been given out in that match, but he survived. There are no world-class umpiring standards.”
It was not where the game was won or lost, but the third umpire decision to give Marcus Stoinis out caught behind with his hand off the bat was a big talking point after South Africa’s win #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/M6llW08XOz
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 13, 2023
Does not agree with Mickey
Despite criticizing the umpiring at the mega event, when asked about Mickey Arthur’s ‘BCCI’ like event comment, in the post-match conference after Pakistan’s devastating loss against the Indian team, Salman Butt seemed to be in total disagreement with the Pakistani team director’s point of view.
Replying to the question, Salman said, “That was totally uncalled for and unprofessional. It was something that was beyond his control and something he should be the last person to be worried about. His job is to motivate players, irrespective of the circumstances. It won’t have a good effect on the team if he makes such statements.”
Multiple complaints about umpiring
The most noticeable frustration about the umpiring was seen when David Warner took a review after getting adjudged LBW off Sri Lanka’s Dilshan Madhushanka’s ball. Despite the review, the on-field umpire decision stood still as Warner was deemed out even by the third umpire.
Warner did not seem to be satisfied with the decision and left the field fuming in anger and yelling at the pitch. He even went on record to show his displeasure.
“I’ve never had Hawk-Eye come in and explain to us how the technology actually works, it’s just for the TV, if they could come in and explain to us how it works, then sometimes we might choose not to refer or to refer,” the Aussie South Paw said.
David Warner angry reaction after given out.#Davidwarner #AUSvsSL pic.twitter.com/jm2YSWyfzk
— Cric666 (@Cric666official) October 16, 2023
Australia seemed to be suffering most as in their second match against South Africa there were two instances where the Aussies found themselves on the wrong side of the luck, two of their main batsmen, Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis, given out in a little controversial manner causing a huge uproar amongst the netizens.
ANGRY AUSSIES
Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis looked disappointed with the decisions of umpires regarding out. Australian team might look to give protest letter to ICC regarding umpiring standards. Both decisions were shocking.#AUSvsSA
Ahmedabad#CWC23
Rabada pic.twitter.com/y4OSKq9Zg7— Sports syncs (@moiz_sports) October 12, 2023
English batsman Jhonny Bairstow was also seemingly irritated by his dismissal against the Afghanistan team, as the English team also went on to lose the match by 69 runs.