The man in white is (not) always right

Amazingly enough lsquoa cricket umpire is like the geyser in the bathroom we cannot do without it yet we notice it only when it is out of orderrsquo Thus wrote Sir Neville Cardus who has rarely been heralded for his plumbing masteryHis assessment of umpires was to the point though and we have noticed them all too frequently in recent weeks Muhammad Kamruzzaman and Tanvir Ahmed have attracted the greatest attentionUmpireplayer altercations are rare on the cricket field but nothing comes close to Harmanpreet Kaurs fingerwagging exchange with the onfield umpires qualifying as one of the most notorious images in the sport outwardly an angry contravention by the Indian skipper of the summer games sporting spiritThe unedifying drama unfolding in Mirpur is the result of a number of issues that have been bubbling away beneath the surface with increasing intensity since the beginning of the series They all exploded in a furious head as Kaurs conduct came under wider scrutiny than umpiring folliesA visibly irritated Kaur directed her anger at the stumps smashing all three of them after being caught out at slipoff Nahida Akter while attempting a sweep Did the ball touch the pads or not Or did the glove or bat get in the way Just as the umpirersquos dreaded finger went up Kaur charged towards him in fury before channeling her anger at the unsuspecting timber then walked off with a thumbsup to the crowdThere has been much talk of the principle that lsquothe umpires decision is finalrsquo and how it represents one of the absolute and inviolable tenets of the game ndash as if the game was designed for the benefit of the umpires rather than players or spectatorsIt must be remembered that according to the laws of cricket it is illegal for a player to show dissent at an umpirersquos decision or wilfully mistreat any part of the cricket equipment It really was a grave sinBut let the lsquoblame gamersquo take a back seat here What transpired it Shouldnrsquot the umpires and their judgements be placed under a greater measure of scrutiny tooIn an era when more than ever before the performances of international teams have come to be associated as much with national prestige as with the stature of the players winning takes top priority always In that context there was a great deal at stake for the Indian womenrsquos team touring neighbouring DhakaPerhaps the Indians are only too well aware that anything less than a thorough humiliation of lowly Bangladesh could injure their reputation even if not their rating Understandably therefore Kaur had been willing to ensure that flawed umpiring decisions do not prejudice the outcome of the seriesAlso Read Humidity lingers traffic worsens but cricket wins the race A diary of an Indian on tourJudgements frequently are based on informed personal decisions rather than precise and foolproof calculations and one of the effects that replays and reviews and challenges to umpiring decisions have had on the game is to expose the accuracy or otherwise of those decisions Since however umpiring was never intended to be informed by perfect judgement the replays often do more to provoke controversy and debate than to challenge the competence of umpiresWhile deputy Smriti Mandhana defended her captain at the postmatch press conference Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana didnt hold back saying Kaur could have shown better mannersMandhana had said that Kaur was caught in the heat of the moment as she couldnt accept the umpires decision When you play for India you want to win the match and it happens in the heat of the moment Mandhana said I think she Kaur wasnt really happy with the decision given and she felt she wasnt out That is why that reaction came about It is just the heat of the moment and nothing muchWhat happened in the middle is a part and parcel of the game Weve seen these incidents so much in the past as well When you really want that W on the board for India these things happenMandhana did however call on the ICC to appoint neutral umpires in the futureIn any match sometimes it happens that you are really not happy with the decisions Especially when there is no DRS in a match in a series of this kind we kind of expect a little better level of umpiring in terms of some decisions she said It was very evident that there was not even a second thought given when the ball was hitting the pad when our batters were batting There was not even one second of thought given before the finger went upI am sure the ICC BCB and BCCI will have more of a discussion on that and maybe we can have a neutralumpiring system from maybe next time so that we dont sit here having these discussions and maybe we can focus more on cricket and cricketoriented questionsKaur swings her bat at the stumps as jubilant Bangladesh players celebrate her wicket Pic Bangladesh CricketUmpiring neutrality however is not a cure for all of the games ills While no one would doubt the complete absence of bias from the current panel there are many who would doubt their competenceA lot of learning from this game Kaur had said at the presentation ceremony Even apart from the cricket the type of umpiring that was happening there we were very surprised The next time whenever we are coming to Bangladesh well have to make sure we have to deal with this kind of umpiring and accordingly well have to prepare ourselvesBangladesh batting first after winning the toss rode on Fargana Hoques 107 to score 225 for 4 In the chase of 226 when Kaur was dismissed India were 160 for 4 in 334 overs and well placed to win But they collapsed to 225 all outWhen the endofseries photograph with both sets of players was being taken Kaur shouted bring the umpires too suggesting they were a part of the Bangladesh side Nigar taking offence at this took her players back to the dressing room soon afterAlso Read BFI has some explaining to doThe Women in Blue have ever since refused to grumble publicly about the umpiring in this series and at the close of play one of my sources close to the team seem to insist that nothing was amiss But in private they are known to be seethingIt is totally her problem I have nothing to do with it Nigar said in the press conference when asked about the incident As a player she could have shown better manners I cant tell you what happened but it didnt feel right to be there for the photograph with my team It wasnt the right environment Thats why we went back Cricket is a game of discipline and respectAbout the umpiring Nigar said The umpires wouldnt give her out if she wasnt out We had umpires from mens international cricket so they were good umpires What are they India going to say about the caught or runout dismissals of which there were six excluding the Kaur and Meghna wickets We have respected their decisions The umpires decision is the final decision whether I like it or not Why didnt we behave in that way like the India playersWe all knew Kaur would not get away so easily She herself knewThe ICC handed her a twomatch suspension a move that could see the skipper missing two crucial games of Indias campaign at the Asian Games in SeptemberOctober in Hangzhou ChinaHarmanpreet Kaur has been suspended for the next two international matches following two separate breaches of the ICC Code of Conduct said the ICC in a statement Kaur was also fined 50 percent of her match fee for expressing dissent at an umpires decision a level 2 offence and 25 percent match fee which is a level 1 offence for openly criticising the umpiresKaur was fined 50 percent of her match fee for the Level 2 offence and received three demerit points on her disciplinary record She was found guilty of breaching article 28 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel relating to lsquoshowing dissent at an umpires decisionrsquo the statement readKaur admitted the offences and agreed to the sanctions proposed by Akhtar Ahmed of the ICC International Panel of Match Referees Hence there was no need for a formal hearing and the penalties were implemented promptlyA Level 2 breach typically carries a penalty ranging from 50 to 100 percent of the players match fee and three or four demerit points while a Level 1 breach entails a minimum penalty of an official reprimand up to a maximum penalty of 50 percent of the players match fee and one or two demerit pointsIn Kaurs instance the accumulation of four demerit points converted to two suspension points leading to her suspension from either one Test match or two ODIs or two T20Is whichever comes first for the team the ICC addedAnyone who has followed the game for any length of time will have seen the ball do interesting things after it has passed the bat The physics of these actions are well beyond even the cleverest of television motion capture systems Pun intendedTechnology might eliminate some of the umpires who are less than sympathetic to the plight of visiting sides but there are still many ways that an umpire can influence a game apart from by dismissals And not all are on a positive note Fair play anyone