Umpiring woes could cost either side the series: Tony Greig

There is growing fear that the battle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy would be marred by the absence of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS). While two Australian batsmen -- Ed Cowan and Michael Hussey -- fell to umpiring blunders, Zaheer Khan should have had Brad Haddin lbw during the dying stages of Day One of the ongoing Boxing Day Test.


Michael Hussey struggles against a Zaheer Khan delivery which
led to his dismissal yesterday. Pic/AFP

"I hope this doesn't become a trend. It could cost either side the series," a shocked Tony Greig told MiD DAY after stumps were drawn with Australia recovering to 277-6 courtesy of an unbeaten 63-run seventh-wicket partnership between Haddin and Peter Siddle.

Hussey registered a golden-ball duck when a spiteful Zaheer delivery shot off from a length to snort past the left-hander, with MS Dhoni claiming the catch. Television replays were conclusive that the ball brushed his sleeve on its way to the Indian skipper.

Test debutant Cowan, who scored a steady 68, attacked the administrators for ignoring the system. A compulsive cutter, Cowan 'edged' one to Dhoni off R Ashwin in the 68th over. "I was disappointed to get out, it was a bit of a lazy shot... you saw the replays, you saw my reaction, and you can join the dots I guess. With the DRS, I have an interesting perspective because I've been a consumer of the game for so long, this is Day One on the job for me.

"So as someone who loves their cricket and has watched a lot of cricket, I just don't understand why it can't be handed down by the ICC to be uniform in all games. And that's me speaking as an outsider, not as someone who has been in the bubble for a long time.

It is an interesting one, we'll see how it pans out, I am sure it'll even itself out over the course of the series," he told reporters. Rookie pacer Umesh Yadav, who finished with 3-96, was bombarded with questions on the UDRS. He was reluctant to answer them.