Umpiring is a tense job. A person has to scrutinize every ball bowled and every shot played. Being human, mistakes are bound to happen. However, some mistakes can prove costly and simply cannot be justified by an International umpire. In this article, we will take a look at 5 most horrendous umpiring decisions in cricket.
#5. Rudi Koertzen denies Sangakkara a double century
Chasing 507 runs, Sri Lanka had collapsed to a dismal 290-8 from 265-3. While all hope seemed lot, Kumar Sangakkara was determined to bring the team home. He was on 192 when he attempted a pull shot. He missed, and the ball hit his arm and carried to the keeper. Australia appealed, and to everyone’s shock Sangakkara was given out. Sri Lanka lost the match by 96 runs.
#4. Steve Bucknor shocks Sachin Tendulkar
Steve Bucknor is now infamously known for his terrible umpiring in his career. This instance from an India-Australia Test match at Gabba is a prime example of his poor umpiring. Fast bowler Jason Gillespie was troubling India with his thunderous bowling when a ball of his crashed onto Sachin Tendulkar’s pads. The ball was too wide and too high. It came as a shock to everyone when Bucknor raised his finger. Even the usually cool Tendulkar was left with his mouth agape but had no choice than to go back to the pavilion.
#3. Aleem Dar saves de Villiers
Aleem Dar is one of the best umpires in the world, which is why this decision of his came under even more scrutiny. AB de Villiers nicked a ball off Zaheer Khan and was caught brilliantly in the slips by Sachin Tendulkar. The Indians celebrated, oblivious to the fact that the umpire hadn’t raised his finger. The Men in Blue were shocked as the catch was clean as a whistle. de Villiers got out LBW on the very next ball, but this decision will still go down as one of the worst ever.
#2. Umpire Joel Wilson’s wrong decision destroys Zimbabwe dreams
DRS is, after all, controlled by a human being, so it cannot be free of mistakes. This wrong decision, however, robbed Zimbabwe of a historic run-chase. Zimbabwe were chasing a mammoth 332 and was on the track with a healthy 149-run partnership between Brendon Taylor and Sean Williams. With 32 needed off 19 balls, Williams hit long to deep mid-wicket and was caught. The decision was referred to the third umpire. The third umpire gave Williams out despite replays clearly showing the fielder’s leg touching the boundary line. Zimbabwe’s run-chase soon fell apart and they lost by 5 runs.
#1. Daryl Harper denies Sachin
Man, Sachin hasn’t had it easy with poor umpiring decisions, has he? This decision at Gabba will go down as one of the worst umpiring decisions ever. Batting in the 2nd innings of the 1st Test at Adelaide Oval, 1999, Tendulkar was given out LBW in the most unusual way. A ball from McGrath stayed low, and Sachin was hit on the shoulder. Australia appealed, and he was given out LBW. The decision was panned by several experts later and still remains hotly debated to this date.
