Umpiring controversies were a burning issue in the Australian media today as the Aussies kept alive their faint hopes of victory in the second Ashes Test against England at Lord's.
Umpiring controversies were a burning issue in the Australian media today as the Aussies kept alive their faint hopes of victory in the second Ashes Test against England at Lord's.
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Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin held England at bay with an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 185 to leave Australia at 313 for five and needing a further 209 runs to achieve an improbable victory on the final day today.
But there was raging debate in Australia's newspapers and blogging sites over three controversial umpiring decisions that went England's way on the fourth day yesterday.
Commentators said Simon Katich was caught off a no-ball from Andrew Flintoff which umpire Billy Doctrove failed to call and England captain Andrew Strauss claimed a catch at slip off Phillip Hughes that appeared to bounce.
Hughes stood his ground, the umpires conferred, and the other match official Rudi Koertzen ruled that the catch had carried without referring it to the video umpire.
The Aussie press also contended that Doctrove gave Mike Hussey out caught at slip by a delivery from spinner Graeme Swann which appeared to miss the edge of his bat.
"Australian anger is now likely to bubble over at Hughes's controversial dismissal - especially as the umpires had referred Nathan Hauritz's contentious diving catch to the third umpire earlier in the match," The Daily Telegraph's Ben Dorries said.
"Replays appeared to show the ball touching the ground before Strauss's fingers curled around the ball and the Australians were entitled to feel aggrieved that the (Hughes) decision was not referred," The Sydney Morning Herald's Chloe Saltau said.
The Telegraph's Robert Craddock called for Koertzen to be sacked.
"I can forgive Billy Doctrove - just - for failing to detect that the ball which dismissed Katich was a no-ball and the fact that Hussey hit the ground and not the ball when he was given out," he said.
"But there was absolutely no excuse for Koertzen not to go to the third umpire to decide whether Strauss has correctly caught Hughes at slip.
"Amazingly, he (Koertzen) is still at large making major blunders which shape the results of series and if he was the chief executive of a major company he would have been sacked on the spot years ago."
The Australian's Malcolm Conn said cricket continues to make a fool of itself over its reluctance to fully utilise technology to adjudicate in dismissals.
"Umpires Koertzen and Doctrove have proved with a series of terrible blunders at Lord's that no amount of technology can improve a game if those in charge can't or won't use it," Conn said.
Former Test legspinner Stuart MacGill said umpires needed to show fair and consistent application and interpretation of the laws and playing guidelines.
"That clearly did not happen today (Sunday)," MacGill said on SBS TV.
Fellow panellist and former Test cricketer Greg Matthews said he detected a little fear creeping into the England camp as Australia kept their hopes flickering.
"It is undeniable to say that England looked just a little bit shaky," Matthews said.
"How many times in the history of Test match cricket do you see a captain pull his boys into a huddle with an hour to play? I could just smell a bit of fear."
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