England trio face sanctions after row over third umpire
➤ Root, Broad and Anderson angry at TV official’s decisions ➤ Tourists lodge complaint on disastrous first day of third Test
Joe Root, Stuart Broad and James Anderson could all face disciplinary action for angrily confronting the umpires on a disastrous day for England in Ahmedabad.
The tourists’ hopes of a rare series win in India were already in tatters after they were skittled for just 112 in their first innings. But England were most infuriated by third umpire Chettithody Shamshuddin’s handling of two incidents in India’s reply, with captain Root and head coach Chris Silverwood subsequently submitting a formal complaint to the match referee.
On the 10th ball of India’s innings, Shubman Gill edged a Broad delivery to Ben Stokes at second slip. It was unclear whether Stokes had taken the catch cleanly; the on-field umpire Anil Chaudhary’s soft signal was “out”, but with replays seeming to indicate the ball had been grounded, the third umpire swiftly judged Gill to be not out. That immediately prompted Root, Broad and Anderson to speak at length to Chaudhary, with all three players visibly frustrated. Root and Broad spoke to the umpire again at the end of the over.
Then, late in the day, Jack Leach’s appeal for a stumping against Rohit Sharma was also referred to the TV umpire, and was again swiftly ruled in favour of the batsman. “All we want is consistency,” Root appeared to say to the on-field umpire.
Root and Silverwood spoke to match referee Javagal Srinath after play to register their displeasure.
“The captain and head coach acknowledged the challenges the umpires faced and asked respectfully that in making any decisions there was consistency in the process,” said an England and Wales Cricket Board spokesman. “The match referee said the captain was asking the right questions of the umpires.”
Although captains are permitted to talk to umpires on the field, the International Cricket Council code of conduct says players can be sanctioned if they show “excessive, obvious disappointment with an umpire’s decision” or “arguing or entering into a prolonged discussion with the umpire about a decision.”
That would leave room for all three players to be potentially sanctioned. Stokes was seen bursting into laughter when his catch was overturned and he also started applauding as he walked away, although it was unclear if he was sarcastically applauding the decision, or if he was simply trying to encourage his team-mates.
Zak Crawley, who made 53 in England’s total of 112, struggled to conceal his irritation.
“It is frustrating,” he said. “It doesn’t help our chances of winning when the 50-50s don’t go with us. It’s out of our control. We can make it a bit easier for the umpires by taking wickets without the need for 50-50s.”
Crawley said that England were particularly aggrieved by the sense of double standards, with a number of replays being used before it was found that Leach had been caught at slip during England’s innings, but
the verdicts on India’s batsmen seemingly rushed.
“When we batted, Jack had a similar sort of one where it didn’t quite carry and it seemed like they looked at it from five or six different angles,” he said. “When we were fielding, it seemed like they looked at it from one angle. That’s where the frustrations lie. I can’t say whether they were out or not out, but I think the frustrations lie with not checking more thoroughly.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan criticised Shamshuddin for seeming to rush the stumping verdict.
“That is really poor from the third umpire, he has not looked at every angle again,” Vaughan said. “Joe Root is right in what he is saying to the umpire. The point is that it may still be not out, but it’s about the procedure you go through. You need to check every angle.”
Crawley admitted that England had endured a poor day. At 99 for three India are only 13 runs behind England’s total and well poised for a sizeable first-innings lead.
“We know we should have got a few more runs,” Crawley said. “If we’d got 200 that would be a nice, competitive score, but there’s a way back. It’s nowhere near over.”