David Warner, the victim of a marginal lbw call against Sri Lanka in the 2023 World Cup game between the sides, wants umpires to be held accountable for wrong decisions and suggests their statistics to be shown on the big screen.
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Warner was struck on the pad against Sri Lanka by Dilshan Madushanka, but the ball seemed to be angling down the leg side. Much to his surprise, on-field umpire Joel Wilson gave him out, which Warner immediately reviewed.
Ball-tracking, however, did not back him, as the ball was shown to be clipping the leg stump, and so Warner had to walk back on umpire’s call. The left-hander was visibly frustrated at the decision, smashing the bat against the ground and expressing his anger verbally before walking back. He stopped as he neared the boundary rope and looked back, seemingly uttering words at Wilson again, before disappearing into the dressing room.
Two days after the incident, Warner is in no mood to forgive, and wants more clarity from both technology and the umpires to eliminate such calls. “’I just sprayed out loud in frustration pretty much. Normally when something hits me on the leg on the outside, I know it’s pretty much going down the leg. I asked Joel when I was out there just what happened why did he give it out? He said the ball was swinging back.
“From my perspective on the replay, it wasn’t. When you see on the replay how it unfolded, you get a little bit annoyed.”
Warner also wanted the ICC to look at the possibility of displaying umpires’ statistics on the big screen, so the players are more aware of who is more likely to give the 50-50 calls in their favour.
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“Players’ stats go up on the board as you walk out to bat,” he said. “When they announce the umpires, I’d love to see their stats come up on the board as well. The NRL does it. I think the NFL does it. It’s a great thing for the spectators to see as well.
“You definitely know which umpires are going to give those 50-50 ones when it hits the pad, and that’s where from my perspective it gets frustrating. There’s no bias in anything. It’s just that you feel that as a player sometimes.
“There has to be some accountability. If you get a decision wrong, just accept it and apologise. Obviously, players get dropped for poor performances. It’s never explained to us what goes on with the panel (of umpires) as well. So (stats are) just an indicator.”
Warner has returned with scores of 41, 13 and 11 in three games of the World Cup, with Australia winning one match, against Sri Lanka. They started off with defeats to India and South Africa before the victory against the Lankans and will meet Pakistan next, on Friday October 18.