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Tim Bresnan received death threats after Sachin Tendulkar lbw decision

Tim bresnan
by Wisden Staff 2 minute read

Tim Bresnan has revealed that he and umpire Rod Tucker both received death threats after Tucker adjudged Sachin Tendulkar lbw in a 2011 Test at The Oval, depriving Tendulkar of what would have been his 100th international hundred.

At the time, Tendulkar was in the midst of what would end up being more than a year-long wait for his 100th international century. India’s second innings at The Oval was Tendulkar’s 12th opportunity to reach the landmark after registering his 99th hundred for India against South Africa earlier that year. On 91, Tendulkar was on the receiving end of a marginal decision from Tucker.

“He was on 99 international hundreds and there were no referrals in that series because the BCCI didn’t like them,” said Bresnan on the Yorkshire Cricket: Covers Off podcast. “It was at The Oval in the last Test of the series. This ball, it was probably missing leg anyway, and umpire Hill [Tucker], Aussie lad, shot him out. He was on 80-odd as well [91], definitely going to get it [his century]. We win the series and go to number one in the world.”

Bresnan actually overplayed the controversy surrounding the decision. TV replays at the time showed that the ball would have clipped leg stump. Had DRS been available to India, the decision would not have been reversed. Irrespective of the accuracy of the decision, Bresnan explained that both he and the umpire received death threats in the months that followed.

“We both got death threats, me and this umpire, we got death threats for ages after. I got them on Twitter and he had people writing to him to his home address and stuff, getting proper death threats going, ‘How dare you give him out? It was missing leg.’ I caught up with him a few months later and he was like, ‘Mate, I’ve had to get a security guard and stuff.’ He had police protection around his gaff in Australia.”

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