Let’s talk about six, baby: Kumar Dharmasena’s controversial decision in the final is going to be a conversation piece for a long time to come
Experienced umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus, who stood in the eventful 2019 men’s World Cup final, have been appointed for the final two Tests of the Ashes series.
The standard of umpiring in the first three Tests has been a major talking point, with Joel Wilson, Chris Gaffaney and Aleem Dar all making a number of errors.
Australia’s equally poor reviewing was exposed when Wilson incorrectly judged Ben Stokes not out in an lbw decision off Nathan Lyon during the penultimate over of the Headingley Test.
Sri Lankan umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge, who is on the ICC’s international panel but not on the elite panel, was set to stand alongside Erasmus for the fourth Test at Old Trafford. However, Dharmasena, who is one of the most experienced umpires on the elite panel, has been appointed to stand onfield alongside Erasmus, with Palliyaguruge set to fill the third umpire’s role.
Dharmasena and Erasmus were the umpires in charge of the men’s World Cup final between England and New Zealand at Lord’s when England were incorrectly awarded six runs instead of five in an overthrow incident in the final over of the match. England went on to win the final.
Dharmasena subsequently admitted the error but said he would never regret the decision. He was also involved in an incident with Jason Roy in the semi-final between England and Australia when he incorrectly gave Roy out caught behind.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo