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Cricket umpiring has been a topic of intense discussion during recent times.
The high inconsistency of umpire decisions has led to widespread criticism of umpiring standards.
There have been multiple instances where even with the presence of Decision Review System (DRS), controversial umpire decisions have been made which put a question on the ability and the judgement of the umpires.
Who can forget the 2008 Sydney Test where the pair of Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor made a lot of mistakes.
The no-ball which was not given by umpire S Ravi in the match played between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2023.
Umpiring errors have plagued the game for decades. So let's take a look at the the most controversial umpire decisions in cricket history.
The Sydney Test | 2008
India's tour down-under in Australia in 2008 grabbed a lot of public attention.
In the second Test in Sydney, there was the infamous monkey gate scandal involving Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds, which was a different saga altogether.
However, the Test witnessed several controversial umpiring calls, most of which went against the visitors.
The eventual Man of the Match, Andrew Symonds, could have been out on three separate occasions.
An edge off Ishant Sharma's bowling was heard by everyone except by the man who mattered most - umpire Steve Bucknor.
Bucknor did not even refer a stumping appeal by MS Dhoni to the third umpire, and it looked like it was clearly out on seeing replays.
On another stumping appeal on Symonds, the TV umpire gave the wrong decision of 'not out' when Symonds' foot was in the air.
There were other similar umpiring howlers in that game. Australian captain Ricky Ponting had nicked a ball down the leg side, but India's appeal for caught behind was turned down by umpire Mark Benson.
In the Indian innings, Mark Benson gave Wasim Jaffer out on a no-ball by Brett Lee.
Steve Bucknor then gave Dravid out caught when the batsman's bat was firmly behind the pads.
Another one involved Mark Benson asking Ponting if Saurav Ganguly's catch had carried to Michael Clarke in the slips.
Replays suggested it hadn't, but Benson had no qualms to rule the batsman out on the word of the opposition captain.
The Trent Bridge Test | 2013
This particular decision went against Australia in the first Test of the 2013 Ashes series.
Stuart Broad was batting on 37, with England leading by 232 runs, when Ashton Agar came on to bowl the 117th over of the innings.
In the last ball of the over, the batsman edged one to the slips. But the umpire failed to see what everyone else had.
Broad went on to add another 28 runs to his total. Australia ended up losing the Test to England by just 14 runs.
The visitors had every right to be disgusted at the decision. It could be said that the wrong umpiring decision eventually cost them the game.
The ODI World Cup Final | 2019
What a final it was! New Zealand and England went toe to toe at Lord's. The struggle for supremacy was a spectacle to witness.
In the last over bowled by Trent Boult to Ben Stokes, England required 15 runs to win.
The bowler started brilliantly with two dot balls, but Stokes sent the third ball soaring out the park for six.
The equation petered down to 9 off 3. That was when things went horribly wrong for New Zealand.
Stokes swung but could not make a good connection as the ball went to the leg side. The batsman ran the first one hard and went for the second as if his life depended on it.
Martin Guptill, one of the best fielders in the New Zealand team, aimed a throw at the stumps.
As Stokes scampered back for the second, his desperate lunge forward with the bat deflected the ball which went away for four.
Umpire Kumar Dharmasena signalled six runs for England - 2 for the runs run by the batsman and 4 for the overthrow.
The equation which could have been seven off 2 was now three off 2. Stokes managed two runs off the last two balls, thereby tying the game.
England won the final in the Super Over on the maximum-boundary rule.
Umpire Simon Taufel, a very respectable figure, pointed out that Dharmasena's decision was wrong.
This controversial umpiring decision may just have cost New Zealand the World Cup.
The Lord’s ODI | 2015
In a One Day International match between England and Australia at Lord’s, Ben Stokes became the sixth batsman and the first England player to be given out for obstructing the field.
The incident occurred during England’s chase when Stokes stuck out a glove to avoid a throw at the stumps by Mitchell Starc.
The wicketkeeper, Matthew Wade, and captain Steven Smith made the appeal, leading to the on-field umpires referring the decision to the third umpire.
Stokes was eventually given out, causing controversy and disagreement.
The law states that a batsman is out obstructing the field if they wilfully attempt to obstruct or distract the fielding side.
This created a lot of controversy, as this was a very dicey decision by the umpire.
Many felt that Stokes was trying to protect himself rather than disallowing the ball to hit the stumps.
India's tour of Australia | 1999
During India’s 1999 tour of Australia, umpire Daryl Harper made a contentious decision in the Indian second innings.
As India was chasing 387 runs, they lost early wickets, including Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.
Following Dravid’s dismissal by Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar came in to bat.
On the third delivery of the subsequent over by Glenn McGrath, Tendulkar faced a short ball. He ducked, but the ball unexpectedly kept low, striking his shoulder.
The Australians appealed for an LBW, and umpire Daryl Harper gave Tendulkar out.
According to the rules, LBW applies when any part of the batsman’s body, apart from the glove, obstructs the ball’s path.
This decision involving India’s star batsman and the uncertainty of whether the ball would have hit the stumps sparked controversy.
Some replays indicated the ball might have missed the stumps, but the decision remained unchanged.
Champions Trophy Final | 2013
In the 2013 Champions Trophy title match between India and England, the tourists managed a modest 129/7 in a rain-affected game.
India were not going to cave in easily, though. Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Joe Root were all back in the hut when Jadeja came into bowl with England at 41/3.
The third ball of the over was beautifully reverse swept by Ian Bell for a boundary.
On the next ball, Bell gave himself room for an inside-out shot, and Jadeja smartly followed the batsman.
Bell missed the ball completely, and MS Dhoni had the bails removed in a flash. Kumar Dharmasena signalled for the third umpire.
Bell was a foot down the crease but had swiftly dragged it back. Dhoni's glovework was lightning quick, though. In one frame, the batsman's foot was in the air, in the next it was grounded.
It was not exactly a controversial call but a tough one, nonetheless, for the third umpire.
The decision, which could have gone either way, eventually went the way of the fielding side and Bell was adjudged out.
Tri-Series between England, Sri Lanka and Australia | 1998/99
In the eighth game of the Tri-Series in 1998/99 between England and Sri Lanka, there was an incident involving the umpire.
In the 16th over of the said game, Muttiah Muralitharan was introduced into the attack.
After bowling the fourth ball of the 18th over, umpire Ross Emerson, who was standing at square-leg, decided to call a no-ball on the young off-spinner for 'throwing the ball'.
Muralitharan had been previously called for chucking, and after a lot of adjustments, was cleared by the ICC to continue with his bowling action.
On the day, neither umpire Tony McQuillanat the bowler's end had any complaints, and nor did the batsmen. The Sri-Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga, though, was going to have none of it.
After a prolonged talk with the umpires, he ordered his team to leave the field and also apologised to the English batsmen.
The match referee and team manager had to be involved in bringing the Lankans back on to the ground.
All that was gained from the incident was a moment of infamy for umpire Ross Emerson who seemed to have a problem with Murali's bowling action.
Incidentally, it was quite bizarre for Emerson to have 'seen' the throwing motion of the bowler's arm while standing at square leg.
Pakistan's tour of England | 2006
In 2006, Pakistan were on a tour of England for four tests, five ODIs and a single T20I. In the fourth and final test, a highly controversial incident occurred.
The series had already been wrapped up by England who led 2-0 going into the last Test.
An hour before tea on Day 4, umpire Darrell Hair (the same person who called Muralitharan for chucking back in 1995) and Billy Doctrove asked for a change of the ball.
Usually, the bowling side is consulted while changing the balls. But it was not so on the day.
The umpires, instead, decided to ask the batsman. Their reasoning for doing so was because they believed the Pakistani players illegitimately altered the condition of the ball.
However, there was no evidence to support their claim, despite all the cameras at the Oval. Furthermore, the visitors were slapped a five-run penalty.
The Pakistani players, upset at the apparent injustice meted out to them, did not walk out to take the field after tea.
The umpires went to the Pakistani dressing room for a conversation with the players, Then they returned to the pitch, took the stumps off and awarded England the game on forfeit.
Pakistan did come out to the field after an hour, but the umpires had made their decision by then and refused to overturn it.
Later, the ICC overturned the decision from an England win to a draw.
But the MCC World Cricket committee comprising Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Michael Atherton and Shaun Pollock did not acknowledge the same.
This is because the rules of the game state that an umpiring decision, right or wrong, cannot be changed at a later date.
