The director of the Pakistan squad, Mohammad Hafeez, blamed the team’s loss against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the “curse” of decision review technology and “inconsistent umpiring.”. Pakistan lost the second Test by 79 runs, handing the home team an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-game series.
Pakistan needed 98 runs to win the 317-run chase with five wickets remaining when Mohammad Rizwan was ruled caught behind by the glove’s wristband following a DRS review by Pat Cummins. Umpire Michael Gough initially called the hitter not out, but third umpire Richard Illingworth found clear proof that the ball had left the wristband, not the batter’s forearm, as the batter had claimed.
Mohammad Hafeez, however, attributed the result to inconsistent umpiring and the application of DRS technology.
“We made some mistakes as a team; we will take that and address those things, but at the same time, I believe inconsistent umpiring and the technology curse have really given us the result that should have been different,” Hafeez was said to have stated by ESPNcricinfo.
“I believe that these are the areas that require attention. [Rizwan] is a really honest guy, from what I’ve spoken to him. He claimed he didn’t even sense anything making contact with the gloves. Based on our observations, there needs to be substantial proof to overturn the umpire’s ruling. That’s what I am aware of. The umpire declared it not out, and there was no solid proof that required the decision to be overturned,” he continued.
Simon Taufel, a former ICC umpire, on the other hand, thinks the third umpire made the right call.
“For me, conclusive evidence was the ball on top of that wristband attached to the glove, with the spike [on Snicko],” Taufel explained. “After Rizwan’s dismissal, I feel very comfortable that Richard Illingworth, the third umpire, had conclusive evidence to overturn that decision,” Taufel said on Channel Seven’s broadcast.
India
