Explained: Why Bangladesh are demanding neutral umpires

South Africa thrashed Bangladesh in the first Test in Durban after bundling them out for 53 while defending 274 on the final day of the encounter. The Proteas clinched a mammoth 220-run win after riding on a dominating bowling performance from Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer in the second innings. While Maharaj returned with a seven-for at the cost of 32 runs, Harmer scalped three wickets for just 21 runs. But the first clash between the two sides attracted some controversy after the visitors weren’t really happy with ‘inconsistent decisions’ from onfield South African umpires, Marais Erasmus and Adrian Holdstock. In fact, Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud went on to say that the International Cricket Council (ICC) should go back to having neutral umpires. What exactly happened? The umpiring came under some scrutiny after there were as many as 11 incorrect calls in the match, according to Cricbuzz. Ebadot Hossain had trapped Sarel Erwee LBW but the umpire gave him not out. The Bangladesh side then went upstairs and it turned out to be a perfect call as Erwee had to depart for 8 after the decision was overturned. But this was certainly one of the many instances of a inconsistent decisions by umpires. Later, Dean Elgar survived by virtue of an umpire’s call after being hit on the back leg in the fifth over. The on-field umpire Erasmus didn’t raise his finger at an LBW call but the DRS showed that the ball had only clipped the stumps. The left-handed batter went on to score 64 in the second innings before he was finally out, courtesy of a brilliant review from Bangladesh. The on-field umpire had once again turned down an LBW appeal and Bangladesh didn’t waste any time in taking the review which went in their favour eventually. Khaled Ahmed was denied a wicket when an LBW appeal from him against Keegan Petersen was turned down. The visiting side didn’t take the review to preserve their quota. But the replays showed that Petersen would have been sent packing. The batter scored an important 36 as the hosts compiled a total of 204 before getting bowled out. Who said what? The umpiring had left the Bangladesh players and the team director Mahmud fuming. It had frustrated them to a level that all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has asked the ICC to go back to the days of having neutral umpires. “I think umpires play a big role behind a Test match and a lot of this depends on their decisions. Since morning everyone has seen the umpiring and there is nothing to hide,” Mahmud told reporters after the game. “There were certain decisions that went against us and if that was not the case we would have been chasing 180 instead of 270,” he added. “To be honest, I haven’t seen such inconsistent umpiring for a long time,” he said. “Now everything is open and we feel ICC should see if neutral umpires can be provided,” he concluded. Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib demanded that the ICC should now get back to days of having neutral umpires as the COVID-19 situation is “ok”. “I think it’s time for #ICC to go back to neutral umpires as Covid situation is ok in most cricket playing countries,” Shakib tweeted during the game.

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

Coach Nazmul Abedin who has mentored a number of Bangladesh players lashed out at the umpires and said that they were favouring the home side. “The umpires are clearly favouring the home team in terms of all the close calls… SHAME !!!” he wrote. Is Bangladesh Cricket Board taking any action? Bangladesh Cricket Board will be making a formal complaint to the ICC over claims of biased umpiring and “unbearable” sledging in the first Test against South Africa, officials said Tuesday. “You all have seen how biased the umpiring was. On the field, sledging was also unbearable,” Bangladesh Cricket Board cricket operations chief Jalal Yunus told AFP. “We will write a formal complaint to the ICC match referee manager,” he added. What’s the response from South African camp on umpiring fiasco South Africa batting consultant Justin Sammons came in the umpires’ defense and went on to state that they are also “humans” and can make mistakes at times. “Everybody’s human and everybody in the changeroom respects them. It’s not an easy job. We’ve just got to get on with our business. We’ve got to control what’s in our hands and block out any uncontrollable. That’s uncontrollable. It’s important that we focus on our job at hand.” Has anyone else asked for neutral umpires in the past? Yes. Former India batter Sunil Gavaskar had earlier insisted on having neutral umpires to “avoid the finger of bias”. “I would still want to see neutral umpires because after you exhaust your 2-3 reviews, there could still be a decision that could be game-turning,” said the former India skipper earlier while commentating in a Test match between India and England in 2021. “To avoid the finger of bias, you should have neutral umpires," he added. Why did ICC decide to have umpires from host countries? The International Cricket Council (ICC) had made it compulsory in 1994 to have one neutral umpire in a Test before making it two in 2002 for a match. But the ICC was forced to have umpires from the host countries during international fixtures following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. The pandemic had brought in certain limitations such as travel restrictions and other protocols which eventually resulted in ICC having umpires from host nations. The home umpires who have performed the duties last year have been from the ICC’s Elite Panel. Elsewhere, the umpires have been picked from the ICC’s International Panel of umpires. This involves the top four umpires from each country.