Umpires’ dependency on reviews in question

It was a tough day at the office for Bangladesh on the fourth day of the first Test against South Africa in Durban, but the Tigers showed their fighting instincts after a few dropped catches had dampened the mood.

At stumps, Bangladesh were on 11 for three and need another 263 to win, having bundled the hosts out for 204 in their second innings.

But the focus of yesterday remained the umpiring, with South African on-field umpires Adrian Holdstock and Marais Erasmus dominating discussion.

At least ten reviews were overturned between the teams, four of which were decided by the umpire's call. Dean Elgar's dismissal in South Africa's second innings was only confirmed after a review. It was among eight decisions changed after review.

Unfortunately, Bangladesh were largely got the shorter end of that poor umpiring display, which started from the second over of the day bowled by Mehedi Hasan Miraz. South African skipper Elgar survived a close leg-before shout after the ball hit has back leg and Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque reviewed the decision from Erasmus before it was ultimately upheld due to the umpire's call. Elgar, who rode his luck during a 64-run knock, was only given out after the Tigers took opted for a review after Erasmus had again turned down their appeals.

Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, a prominent coach and mentor to cricketers like Shakib Al Hasan, expressed disappointment over the umpiring on social media, questioning the rule regarding umpire's calls.

"The rule was introduced to give the benefit of doubt to the batters. If the umpire thought it was close, he could give it. But the original rule is that it should be given out if the ball is going on to hit the wicket. In some ways, bowlers have been deprived because of the umpire's call. But it's still fair because that is how the game is being played," Fahim told The Daily Star.

"But when you see so many similar instances, you may feel like the umpires are trying to take that benefit away or trying to shift the advantage. It may seem like the umpire is trying to favour someone and that's what I felt today (Sunday). Eventually, we saw Mominul refrain from taking reviews because of that. If umpires depend totally on reviews, does actual umpiring ultimately exist? The umpire's decision may vary once in a while, but if it happens on a regular basis then that umpire's reputation suffers."

Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who missed out on the Test series due to personal reasons, tweeted yesterday that the time had come for the International Cricket Council to bring back neutral umpires.

"I think it's time for ICC to back to neutral umpires as the Covid-19 situation is okay in most cricket-playing countries," Shakib wrote.