Umpiring errors in the ongoing BBL (Big Bash League) have continued after Usman Khawaja was given not out even though his bat had clearly nicked the ball. The umpire's decision has been severely criticized by fans and some Australian cricketers that include Glenn Maxwell and Adam Gilchrist.
In the match between Sydney Thunders and Perth Scorchers on Tuesday, 22 December, Andrew Tye got Usman Khawaja caught behind, but the umpire felt the batsman had edged the ball to everybody's disbelief.
The umpire was heard saying that "the bat hit the ground." The TV commentators too were not pleased with the decision and Mark Waugh felt like the batsman should have walked instead of waiting for the umpire's decision. However, Khawaja got out three balls, later.
The ongoing BBL has witnessed a lot of blunders from the umpires and one of the reasons for wrong decisions is attributed to the unavailability of the DRS (Decision Review System).
Over the umpire's controversial decision, Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell tweeted, "We get that umpiring isn't easy!! But surely with a stump mic, a bunch of different camera angles, and a basic understanding of cricket, the right decision could've been made without any of the fancy DRS bells and whistles? It was introduced to eliminate the howler... [sic]
Former cricketer Adam Gilchrist too reacted to the latest umpiring blunder with a tweet, "They only went up because he hit the cover off it. Grimacing face #BBL10 #DRSplease. [sic]"
Check out how fans registered their unhappiness over the poor decision:
Jonny: The worst decision I've probably ever seen in cricket. Andrew Tye just got Usman Khawaja caught behind and the umpire gave it not out cause he said the noise was the bat hitting the ground. It's a foot off the track ffs. Disgrace
#MadeTough #BBL10
FAN OF SPORTS: Usman Khawaja was given not out after clearly nicking the ball off Andrew Tye in the BBL today.
Without the DRS, the decision stood. #BBL10
Rebecca Perrie: What happened to walking though?.. Not even talked about anymore.. although Khawaja is owed one from earlier in the series! Woman facepalming
Zane Bojack: Worst non-dismissal ever.. umpire missed a huge edge on Khawaja.. then said he hit the ground to Tye.. yet the bat was 4 foot in the air.. disgraceful.
Glen Foreman: And they introduce three effing stupid rules instead of making one of them a review, that they could have easily gamified the sh-t out of and made as gimmicky as they liked, whilst actually adding something productive to the game. How to cook the golden goose 101
Surya verma: Remember Symonds in 2008 Sydney test, same happened today and Khawaja did not walk.
Nick Walters: No, absolutely not....im not saying that at all, nor was Stuart Broad. My thoughts were we went hard at Broad for not walking, interesting to see if the criticism for Khawaja comes anywhere near....anyway, doesn't matter now, sometimes you get good ones...and the bad ones!!
