The third umpire's decisions during the first Test between the West Indies and Australia have come under scrutiny, with fans expressing disappointment over the calls. On what has been a tough Barbados pitch to play on, the Aussies and the Windies are putting their best foot forward, as 24 wickets have fallen across two days of action.
The Aussies went to the stumps on Day 2 on 92/4 with a lead of 82, but the match has seen several contentious calls with fans criticising the third umpire, Adrian Holdstock.
Decisions that caused a stir
There have been a few decisions from the third umpire that have caused a lot of stir. The latest of those was the survival of Australia's all-rounder Cameron Green in the 25th over of the second innings, a little before the end of the second day.
Green's late escape
Windies speedster Justin Greaves found Green in trouble when he pinned him in front, which was not given out. The hosts reviewed. The bat, ball and the pad were in the vicinity of each other, but it seemed the ball had hit the pad first, before the bat hit the flap of the back pad, and then hit the ball. However, the third umpire decided there was a bat involved, despite the murmur on the Ultraedge when the ball was next to the front pad. Green survived.
Carey's brilliance under scanner
Another one occurred during the West Indies' first innings when Beau Webster had nicked off Shai Hope on the inside edge. The ball flew to the left of the wicketkeeper Alex Carey, who dived to take a one-handed catch. He completed the catch, but upon diving, some part of the ball seemingly made contact with the ground despite being in the glove. However, Hope was given out.
Windies skipper Chase' debatable dismissal
Another incident that caught the eyeballs was West Indies' skipper Roston Chase's LBW dismissal in the first innings. Aussie skipper Pat Cummins had Chase in trouble in the 50th over. His back of a length ball stayed a bit low as Chase looked to defend and was hit on the pads. The Windies skipper was given out, and he immediately reviewed.
Once the Ultraedge loaded in, there was a spike when the ball was next to the bat before hitting the pads; however, the third umpire decided that there was no bat involved as there seemed a gap between bat and ball to him. He decided there was no bat, and Chase was given out LBW.
Speaking on the incident, former West Indies cricketer Ian Bishop felt there was a "clear deviation" when the ball passed the bat. "I disagree with the decision, I disagree with the technology, I thought he hit that but somehow, it's worked against Roston Chase," he said on air.
Head's caught-behind contentious call
Another one took place during Australia's first innings. Shamar Joseph found Head's under-edge as the ball went behind to the wicketkeeper Shai Hope, who was not sure whether he took it or not. It seemed to have carried to the wicketkeeper just in time; however, the third umpire was not sure, saying there was no conclusive evidence of it carrying to the wicketkeeper. Head was given not-out.
Chase got a life early on Day 2
On what was another close decision that left the Aussies amused was when Chase got a lifeline early on Day 2. Josh Hazlewood got Chase in trouble with a nipbacker, which hit him on the pads. The Aussies went for a review. It seemed tight on the review, but the TV umpire thought it was inside edge first before it brushed the pads. Chase was not given out.
