India, Oz split over umpiring howlers

Melbourne, December 22

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni might feel that umpiring in the ongoing Test series needs to improve but Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon said officials have done a good job and a couple of bad decisions should not provoke on-field altercations.
India were at the receiving end of at least five contentious calls in the first two Tests, both of which the visitors lost, prompting Dhoni to state that umpiring could certainly improve.
Lyon said the teams should not fret over umpiring and neither should the players allow it to become a reason for flared tempers.
“You’re going to have to control your emotions out there. In Adelaide too some emotions were flying quite high when a couple of decisions weren’t going either way. But that’s Test match cricket. There are enough emotions out there in the middle. We just have to keep patient and keep working hard and not worry about what the umpire says,” Lyon told reporters here. He was answering specifically to the point brought up by Dhoni, wherein on Saturday he had commented on the inconsistent umpiring in this ongoing series. The umpiring blunders have triggered a debate on whether the Decision Review System should have been used in the series. “I personally think they’ve done a pretty good job,” Lyon said supporting the umpires, Ian Gould and Marais Erasmus. “It’s been quite tough for them, especially in Adelaide.
“That wicket was a pretty tough wicket. It’s going to swing both ways (with such decisions). We could have had a different result in Adelaide (in the first Test) if we had DRS but in saying that it could have gone our way as well,” he added. Talking specifically about the DRS debate, he opined, “Both team have to agree to use it. I know I am definitely not against DRS. I think it is good for the game.”
“I don’t have any problem with it. But both team have to agree to use it,” he replied, when asked about the issues that the Indian players have voiced about DRS in recent days. — PTI

Howzat umpire!

• In the first innings of second Test, Cheteshwar Pujara was given caught behind, by umpire Ian Gould, despite the ball clearly hitting the grille of his helmet.
• R Ashwin was given out caught behind though replays showed the ball flicking his thigh. There was no HotSpot mark on the inside edge.
• Rohit Sharma (0) was adjudged out when the TV replays showed that there was no nick.
• In Adelaide, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was given caught out in the slips off Nathan Lyon when the ball had deflected off the batsman’s pad.
• Nathan Lyon trapped Murali Vijay straight in front, almost textbook off-spinner’s lbw dismissal, but was turned down by Erasmus.
• In the second innings of the first Test, Shikhar Dhawan given out caught behind off Mitchell Johnson when the ball came off the batsman’s shoulder. Umpire Ian Gould.
• Meanwhile, the Australian media has criticised India. “Not only do the numbers not lie, they act as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This was Australia's 10th win in a row at home, and their 14th in the last 17, with only one defeat. This was India's fifth away defeat in a row, and their 15th in the last 18, with only one win," Fairfax Media's Greg Baum wrote. Former Australia Test captain Ian Chappell has also blasted India's lack of leadership.

Jadeja replaced by Akshar

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the remaining two Tests with a shoulder injury and will be replaced by left-arm spinner Akshar Patel (in pic). Jadeja will return home to undergo a rehabilitation programme. On the Australian side, David Warner is expected to overcome his sore thumb. Mitchell Marsh has been replaced by Joe Burns.

DRS debate

India's stance on the DRS seem to be softening with the national team director Ravi Shastri saying that the technology can be used in the event of “howlers”. Shastri was quoted as saying by The Australian that as a member of the ICC Technical Committee he has told the apex body that his board is open to using a modified DRS. “I have always said that a player should not have to beg for a review,” Shastri said. “The issue for us is the extent of technology used, by whom and when,” he said. Shastri said the idea of the “umpire's call” for lbws was also unacceptable. According to the paper, the Indian team is open to the idea of accepting a modified version of the DRS without a ball tracker for lbw decisions.

"I believe it’s time that we accepted the DRS as it will only benefit our cause. In both Test matches, I can recall four decisions which did not go in our favour... Had DRS been there, all these decisions were sure to be overturned and we might have been in a winning position in both Test matches" - Harbhajan Singh

"Any technical foolproof system to provide accurate decisions is always welcome. I am not against DRS, but the system is still a long way from being foolproof. I am not convinced about the HotSpot or the HawkEye, which projects the predictable path of the ball for the LBW decisions" - VVS Laxman

"I was of the opinion that DRS is not 100% foolproof but it seems we have to go for the technology now. A lot of easy decisions have gone against us and that has hurt us badly in the series. There were some questionable bat-pad decisions and catches as the umpiring has not been up to the mark. It’s high time that we go for DRS now" - Dilip Vengsarkar