With four ‘Umpire’s Call’ decisions going Australia’s way in the MCG Test, Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan team director, was frustrated already. Then the controversial decision of Mohammad Rizwan was the boiling point for Hafeez, who expressed his opinion about the “inconsistent umpiring” and the “curse” that the DRS technology has “brought into the game”.
Pakistan lost to Australia at the MCG by 79 runs. They were, at one point, in a decent situation at 219/5 while chasing the target of 317 runs, with Rizwan and Agha Salman having formed a solid partnership of 57 runs. However, a controversial third umpire decision of out for Rizwan triggered a collapse and Pakistan were bowled out for 237, as Australia went 2-0 up in the 3-Test series.
A back-of-length ball from Pat Cummins brushed Rizwan’s strap of his glove, but the on-field umpire gave it not out, while Rizwan gestured it hit him on his arm. Upon Cummins taking the DRS, the third umpire assessed the ball to be brushing the strap of Rizwan’s glove and told the on-field umpire to overturn his decision.
Watch Mohammad Hafeez on a rant about the umpires’ decisions and technology
Hazfeez’s snipe at third umpire Richard Illingworth was quite clear. He said he believed Rizwan was a “very honest person” and that Rizwan didn’t feel the ball touching him near the glove.
Hafeez said: “Technology, I’m in favor of that, but [only] if it’s giving you benefit. But if it’s bringing some doubts and bringing some curse into the game, it should not be accepted by anyone. Sometimes the technology brings some decisions which obviously, as a human we don’t understand.
“The ball hitting the stump is always out. Why is it umpire’s call? I never understand that. So I think there are a lot of areas that need to be addressed for the betterment of cricket in general. I think technology is something that is taking away from the instinct of the game.”
Also, four Umpire calls of lbws were given in Australia’s favor by the on-field umpire. This further made Mohammad Hafeez annoyed, with him going on a rant in the press conference about not being able to understand the Umpire’s Call rule.
🗣️ “This technology is basically putting a curse on this beautiful game of cricket.”
Mohammad Hafeez spoke about “inconsistent umpiring and technology curse” in the MCG Test.#AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/vazVGbUbzX
— Grassroots Cricket (@grassrootscric) December 29, 2023
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