ICC Cricket World Cup-2019: When the referee wanted Gayle to come out!

The above headline is not an accusation, it is just a factual observation. However, this observation poorly reflects the refereeing standards at the world’s biggest cricket event. We had recently seen ridiculous refereeing errors in Indian Premiere League-2019. The ICC Cricket World Cup can hardly be compared to the first, and we fervently hope that the standards will improve as this was only the first week of the tournament.

It all happened in the 10th match of the ICC-2019 Cricket World Cup in Trent Bridge, England, between Australia and the West Indies. Winning the West Indies draw put Australia at bat, reduced them to 79 by 5 thanks to Thomas and Cortrell’s fire spells that reminded us of the likes of Malcolm Marshall & Co of yesteryear, and as was their will, the West Indies let go. allow the Australians to accumulate 288. Still, it was not an impossible goal, and the West Indies seemed to be sailing well with Hope and Heitmyer in the forefront. Once again, as old Caribbean habits die hard, the hitters snatched defeat from victory, preferring to bet only on the big shots without any pressure. And they lost by just 15 races. Now, let’s get back to our point of concern.

Only in the third over of the match, Australian pacemaker Starc appealed for a catch behind against Chris Gayle, and the referee confirmed it. Gayle was never known to have shown disrespect or mistrust in umpiring in his surprisingly aggressive career, and he never sulked after adverse decisions. Therefore, when he shook his head, implying that there was no joke, and asked about the DRS, it was very credible and genuine. The review showed that the ball never touched the bat and, in fact, could have grazed the stump without releasing the bails. Gayle won the DRS. At the same, Starc again appealed for an LBW, and the referee held him up quickly as this writer watching the live TV broadcast could clearly see that the ball was deflecting off the leg stump. Gayle raised her eyebrows in amazement and asked for the second DRS. The review showed how the ball missed the leg stump by a fairly large margin. Gayle won her second DRS and also opened with her impressive shots. Perhaps, some people who mattered sulked.

The referee and Starc combined again. The appeal went to an LBW with the referee raising his finger immediately. This time Gayle looked a bit taken aback and asked for his third DRS. The review was not lost yet again, but since the ball was in line and appeared to have hit the upper edge of the leg stump, the referee’s decision had to be confirmed. And Gayle left. He was allowed to score just 20 runs.

And then the real explosion came. Subsequent replays showed that the ball before Gayle was knocked out was not a ball for a big jump, but the referee himself never seemed to notice. Therefore, the ball that finally got Gayle out was a free throw ball where no batter could ever come out.

The above remarks are not intended to take away credit due to Starc, who ran a five-course course thanks to a constant pace, line, and length, and Australian Captain Finch, who displayed a thoroughly professional approach that got the West Indies involved in his plans.

The other highlights of the first week, positively, included England, Bangladesh and India beating a beleaguered South Africa in their respective opening matches, where the aggression of Bangladesh and the quality of both hitting and bowling must be mentioned; The West Indies defeated Pakistan and then Pakistan beating favorites England, showing precision in hitting, bowling and fielding, and the fact that no one mentioned why England offered the opportunity to hit Pakistan on a layup, as the field was full of races. and the armies were full of confidence; the brave Bangladesh lost in a close match against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, registering their first victory over Afghanistan by a narrow margin.

With the free-for-all league up and running, ICC Cricket World Cup-2019 promises to be a fierce battle between nations defending their national pride and belief. Each of the ten teams is capable of writing a story script; South Africa and Sri Lanka cannot yet be ruled out. We just hope that no cricketer will suffer like Chris Gayle in the exciting days of the tournament ahead. India has big games ahead of Australia on June 9, against New Zealand on June 13 and the last against Pakistan on June 16.

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