Teams selecting umpires

[silentstriker]

God it's frightening.
I can see Taufel is a cheat T-Shirts being manufactured all around the world at this very moment.

I have to disagree. Without a doubt such things might happen.

 

[Slow Love™]

The AFL (Aussie Football) has a system for umpiring that makes more sense and would leave me more satisified then the current ICC one.

Umpire's performance is reviewed after every game by an independent umpiring panel and if they make several shocking decisions they are given a spell back at the lower levels. Review process is automatic and hardly any one notices that it occurs.

However players and officials (including boards) are banned from making any public comment on umpires. Stiff penalties are in place and are enforced. Now matter how bad a job an umpire does or how much it costs a team every one keeps silent but they now that the situation will be independantly and failry judged.

The ICC adopts those rules and much of the public acrimony of the current situation could have been avoided.

Yeah, it sounds harsh, but it does work -- far better than the ICC system (or lack-of) does, anyway.

Anyhow, on the bright side, luckily there is an experienced umpire waiting to fill the breach should Bucknor be dropped from the international panel soon.

 

[Richard]

Although I don't agree with the, I guess, pressured removal of Bucknor...I really think his days have been numbered for a while. Not sure what he has to do or not do to get put into retirement. Will it always go down to a team refusing to play?

Umpires must retire at 65 IIRR - or, at least, that's the system in this country, though I do seem to recall it differed at the time of David Shephard's retirement. Certainly, Bucknor is scheduled to retire in 2011, when he'll be 65. What I find troublesome is that there was definately a time when he was planning to retire after WC2007, and as I've said several times now I bet there's not one person involved with cricket who now doesn't wish he had done.

I, however, don't think Bucknor's days have been numbered for a while - I did think that back in 2004, and rather wished he'd retired in 2002. But since 2005 his Umpiring has been about as good as anyone's, and I highly doubt anyone saw this match coming. If it'd been Daryl Harper, maybe.

I'd like to see Bucknor continue to Umpire and have some more good games again. But I'll tell you one thing - I, and I presume most others, must now be terrified something really, really bad like this will happen again. Maybe it'd be best to cut the losses and go now for him.

 

[Richard]

God it's frightening.

Maybe it'll frighten someone off.

 

[silentstriker]

Anyhow, on the bright side, luckily there is an experienced umpire waiting to fill the breach should Bucknor be dropped from the international panel soon.

Hahaha. That would be something.

 

[Tom Halsey]

God it's frightening.
I can see Taufel is a cheat T-Shirts being manufactured all around the world at this very moment.

I have no idea what you're on about, some idiots would undoubtedly claim he was cheating.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

God it's frightening.
I can see Taufel is a cheat T-Shirts being manufactured all around the world at this very moment.

I have no idea what you're on about, some idiots would undoubtedly claim he was cheating.

Of course they would, with emphasis on the word "some idiots". A couple of hundred loonies posting on the Internet that would soon be forgotten, not genuine cricket fans who follow cricket and have seen Taufel in action. The notion that "half the country" would be screaming is palpable nonsense.

 

[Tom Halsey]

Of course they would, with emphasis on the word "some idiots". A couple of hundred loonies posting on the Internet that would soon be forgotten, not genuine cricket fans who follow cricket and have seen Taufel in action. The notion that "half the country" would be screaming is palpable nonsense.

As soon as you have even one person accusing him of cheating, that has been widely heard, you have a problem. And no doubt the press would blow it up too in their search for a story. Then it snowballs. There's a good reason why neutral umpires were introduced.

India are currently accusing Bucknor of bias, and he's not even a home umpire.

 

[Richard]

Of course they would, with emphasis on the word "some idiots". A couple of hundred loonies posting on the Internet that would soon be forgotten, not genuine cricket fans who follow cricket and have seen Taufel in action. The notion that "half the country" would be screaming is palpable nonsense.

You'd only know the truth or not of that if it happened.

Think for a second, had the Edgbaston Test of 2005 been swapped with the one at The Oval. Had Bowden (whom most people of any perceptive skills note has a fondness for Australians) not given the second incorrect decision he gave in an hour to give Kasprowicz out, then the first (which is almost forgotten now) in which he failed to give Kasprowicz out lbw 1st ball when he was patently absolutely plumb would have assumed far greater significance. Now imagine Bowden had not merely been Australia-loving Bowden, but an Australian.

Do you really imagine there'd not be a significant amount of backlash from the cricket-following fraturnity of this country?

 

[Lillian Thomson]

You'd only know the truth or not of that if it happened.

Think for a second, had the Edgbaston Test of 2005 been swapped with the one at The Oval. Had Bowden (whom most people of any perceptive skills note has a fondness for Australians) not given the second incorrect decision he gave in an hour to give Kasprowicz out, then the first (which is almost forgotten now) in which he failed to give Kasprowicz out lbw 1st ball when he was patently absolutely plumb would have assumed far greater significance. Now imagine Bowden had not merely been Australia-loving Bowden, but an Australian.

Do you really imagine there'd not be a significant amount of backlash from the cricket-following fraturnity of this country?

If any umpire made a decision that cost England the Ashes there would be a backlash. Whether the backlash would be greater if the decision was made by the highly respected Taufel as opposed to idiots like Bucknor, Koetzen or Bowden is debatable.

 

[Richard]

Remind me about the backlashes against the highly respected Shephard when he made a few errors in missing no-balls in a relatively obscure Test (wasn't on terrestrial TV) against Pakistan. That was huge, so huge he contemplated retirement, and all that did was meant England lost a Test they deserved to lose anyway as it was a shambolic performance.

Imagine if it'd been a more high-profile game, and if England had been cheated of a victory or a draw because of it.

And THAT was a home Umpire FFS! Think if it'd been the other way around!

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Remind me about the backlashes against the highly respected Shephard when he made a few errors in missing no-balls in a relatively obscure Test (wasn't on terrestrial TV) against Pakistan. That was huge, so huge he contemplated retirement, and all that did was meant England lost a Test they deserved to lose anyway as it was a shambolic performance.

Imagine if it'd been a more high-profile game, and if England had been cheated of a victory or a draw because of it.

And THAT was a home Umpire FFS! Think if it'd been the other way around!

He contemplated retirement because he was disappointed in his own performance not because half the Country were screaming that he was a closet Pakistani.

 

[Johnners]

Hahaha. That would be something.

Haha Indeed, thing is though, he'd more than likely do a better job than Bucknor imo.

 

[river end]

Cricket is a fully professional game now.
You don't appoint umpires to matches who are the same nationality as one of the teams. END OF STORY.

Can you imagine a football match between England and Argentina being refereed by someone from one of those countries?

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Cricket is a fully professional game now.
You don't appoint umpires to matches who are the same nationality as one of the teams. END OF STORY.

No one suggested it was going to happen. My original point in view of India having Bucknor removed was that you could have a situation where the captains and/or respective Boards of Control could get together before a series starts and either choose their preferred umpires or at least have the option of not having an umpire that they're uncomfortable with for whatever reason.
I just added as an aside that I (and I believe most England players and supporters) would rather have Taufel in charge of an Ashes Test than someone like Koetzen who despite being from a neutral Country is more prone to unacceptable errors. Admittedly I didn't take into account the prospect of street rioting in Exeter if Taufel happened to make a serious error........but those are the risks you take.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Cricket is a fully professional game now.
You don't appoint umpires to matches who are the same nationality as one of the teams. END OF STORY.

Can you imagine a football match between England and Argentina being refereed by someone from one of those countries?

Apart from in ODIs where they sort of do, obviously....

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Apart from in ODIs where they sort of do, obviously....

Quality.

 

[Richard]

He contemplated retirement because he was disappointed in his own performance not because half the Country were screaming that he was a closet Pakistani.

They may not have been screaming that he was a closet Pakistani, but there was one hell of a lot of fuss, despite him being about as respected as any Umpire has ever been, despite the fact that there was no suspicion of bias, and despite the fact the errors didn't result in a completely inaccurate-reflection result. And do you really think he'd have contemplated retirement if no-one had said anything other than "ah well, Shep ol' chap, anyone can miss a few no-balls"?

 

[Lillian Thomson]

They may not have been screaming that he was a closet Pakistani, but there was one hell of a lot of fuss, despite him being about as respected as any Umpire has ever been, despite the fact that there was no suspicion of bias, and despite the fact the errors didn't result in a completely inaccurate-reflection result. And do you really think he'd have contemplated retirement if no-one had said anything other than "ah well, Shep ol' chap, anyone can miss a few no-balls"?

He was shown his mistakes by his fellow match officials straight after the match and in his own words he considered "immediate retirement". Whatever "fuss" or not that occured in public or in the press in the days that followed had nothing to do with it.

 

[Richard]

The fuss started in the immediate aftermath, in fact before the game had even finished. Yes, we know Shep was shown his mistakes straight after the match; yes, he'd have been upset even if no-one had said anything.

But there's no way he'd have considered retirement if no-one was ever going to make any fuss at all.