Dubai: Are international cricket match referees biased against sub-continent players? A look at the many verdicts pronounced by match referees over the years clearly shows why one tends to form such an opinion.
When India’s legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar mentioned in one of his columns last year that match referees are biased against Indian players, it was hushed up as a mere observation by a great Indian supporting his countrymen.
The recent verdict from match referee and former Australian opener David Boon, imposing a fine of 50 per cent on Ravindra Jadeja’s match fees in the alleged altercation with James Anderson at Trent Bridge is the latest addition to the list of harsh punishments for sub-continent players.
If, in the verdict to be given out on August 1, Anderson too walks away only with a fine, it would seem unfair. Anderson is alleged to have pushed Jadeja and hence the punishment should be harsher. Simply fining 50 per cent of the match fee would result in cricketers, in the future, resorting to abusing any opponent who provokes him. As Mahendra Singh Dhoni pointed out, the lawful method of reporting to the match referee without reacting to provocations will have no value.
The Trent Bridge incident should also not have resulted in the Indian cricket board making a public statement against the verdict. Cricket boards should never react to such incidents or interfere with those who govern the game. It is clear that India has reacted purely because, over the years, they have had a hard time with match referees.
Who can forget Australia’s Mitchell Johnson and England’s Ben Stokes being declared not guilty of making deliberate physical contact during the last Ashes series? This verdict from match referee Jeff Crowe, which said that both players could have avoided each other, forced many sub-continent nations to wonder whether they would have been spared if their players were involved in such an incident.
Australians have admitted that they use sledging as a technique to get wickets, but when sub-continent players indulge in such acts, they have received warnings and even fines.
Former match referee Mike Denness, who accused Sachin Tendulkar of tampering with the ball in 2001 and often ignored aggressive and continuous appeals for leg before from non-sub-continent players, was particularly criticised in India.
There is little doubt that confidence in match referees has eroded due to numerous suspect incidents and it is high time the International Cricket Council (ICC) acted quickly to restore faith in their officials.
