Bangladesh calls for neutral umpires after poor umpiring in Durban Test

Bangladesh cricket team aims to win their maiden Test series against South Africa as key players of the Proteas are missing.

The Bengal Tigers are confident, followed by a historic ODI series victory against South Africa for the first time on their home soil. Meanwhile, South Africa is playing a weaker side as their major players have preferred to play Indian Premier League (IPL).

The first Test is underway in Durban, where the game was in the balance at the start of Day four as South Africa began their second innings with a 69 run lead. Bangladesh managed to bowl out South Africa for 204 runs with sufficient time to chase 274.

The Bangladesh team was unhappy with the decisions in the Test as seven of the on-field umpire decisions were overturned, and many went in favour of South Africa on umpire calls.

Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud called the umpiring in the Durban Test "inconsistent", adding that Bangladesh could have been "chasing 180 instead of 270" had the decisions gone their way.

Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib-ul-Hassan also tweeted in response to the poor umpiring decisions in the Durban Test. The 35-year-old asked the ICC to reinstate neutral umpires as home side umpires have been officiating since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

I think it’s time for #Icc to back to neutral umpires as covid situation is ok in most cricket playing countries. #SAvBAN

— Shakib Al Hasan (@Sah75official) April 3, 2022

Bangladesh selector Habibul Bashar also criticized the poor umpiring, pointing out that many umpiring decisions had not gone in their favour throughout the game.

Bangladesh made LBW appeals repeatedly during South Africa's second innings, especially in the first two sessions. They took a review when Dean Elgar was given not out on the field by umpire Marais Erasmus in the fifth over after being hit on his back leg. But he survived on umpire's call as ball-tracking showed that the ball was only clipping off stump.

Then, in the 19th over of the innings, Bangladesh successfully overturned Adrian Holdstock's not-out decision for an lbw against Sarel Erwee. According to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball commentary, it "looked so out to the naked eye, and it was a surprise that the on-field call was not given despite a screeching appeal".

In the 26th over, Khaled Ahmed was denied an lbw decision against Keegan Petersen. Bangladesh didn't opt for a review, but replays showed that it would have been out had the review been taken.

"There was no hiding from the [poor] umpiring in today's play," Mahmud said.

 "A number of decisions went against us. We also missed out on a wicket when the boys seemed scared of taking a review. If we got those decisions, we might be chasing 180 instead of 270. To be really honest, I have seen such inconsistency in umpiring after a long time. But the umpires are the best judge on the field. We have to accept the decisions." Mahmud added

Shakib, who left the ongoing series after the white ball leg and did not participate in the Test series due to personal reasons, shared his opinion on Twitter and suggested ICC to go back to neutral umpires as the Covid-19 situation is under control in most countries.

"I totally agree with Shakib," Bashar said. 

"Since Covid protocols are all but over, we should go back to neutral umpires. Umpires make mistakes, but definitely, neutral umpires ensure everyone gets the advantage. We have seen that on and off in this series. The DRS is certainly helpful, but the umpire's call isn't really going in our favour." Bashar added

"When you have a neutral umpire in the middle, even if he makes a mistake, you don't think it is deliberate. We have seen many decisions in this series which could have gone our way but didn't." Bashar concluded.

The tables turned completely for Bangladesh as they lost three wickets in six overs towards the end of day four. Bangladesh requires 263 runs on the last day, while South Africa seeks seven more wickets to win the Test.