West Indies demand ‘penalty’ on umpires for ‘blatant’ wrong calls in Australia’s favour: ‘Could make or break careers’

(Htimes)- West Indies captain Roston Chase slammed “questionable” umpiring in the Barbados Test against Australia. Here’s what he had to say.

West Indies doubled down on their attack against the umpiring decision in the Barbados Test against Australia after skipper Roston Chase minced no words in a scathing assessment of third umpire Adrian Holdstock. In the first Test of the three-match series, several decisions went against the hosts, and Chase believes these howlers went a long way in influencing the decision of the match.

Josh Hazlewood returned with five wickets in the second innings as Australia defeated West Indies by 159 runs in the first Test. After the close of play on Day 2, West Indies coach Daren Sammy met match referee Javagal Srinath, asking for “consistency” in terms of umpiring.

The decisions that left the West Indies camp angered were the dismissals of Roston Chase and Shai Hope. The West Indies was deemed LBY by the third umpire Holdstock even when there was a possible inside edge.

On the other hand, Shai Hope fell prey to a brilliant catch from Alex Carey. However, replays indicated that the Australian wicketkeeper possibly failed to take the catch clean. On Day 1, there was even a caught-behind decision against Travis Head given in Australia’s favour, even when it seemed the Windies skipper completed a clean catch.

“This game is a frustrating one for me and for the team because we bowled out Australia for a relatively low score. We were very happy with that. But then there were so many questionable calls in the game, and none of them went our way. I mean, as a player, you’re out there, you’re giving your all, you’re fighting. And then nothing is going your way,” Chase told reporters after the first Test concluded, as per ESPNCricinfo.

“It could be heartbreaking. You see what set batters can do on the wicket. The wicket is one where once you get in, you can get runs, but the hardest part is to get in. Me and Shai Hope were going well and then, obviously, we had some questionable calls. That really set us back in terms of creating a big lead on the total that Australia set,” he added.

‘Everyone is against you’

Roston Chase launched a tirade against the umpires, saying it felt “everything is against” the hosts after repeated decisions against them.

“It’s clear to see anyone would feel bad or feel hurt about those decisions. You’re out there playing to win, giving it your all, and it seems like everyone is against you. It’s frustrating because as players, when we mess up, when we get out of line, we’re penalised harshly,” Chase said.

“But the officials, nothing ever happens to them. They just have a wrong decision or questionable decision, and life just goes on. You’re talking about guys’ careers. One bad decision could make or break a guy’s career. I just think that it should be an even playground in terms of when players step out of line, they’re penalised. I think that there should be some penalty put in place when you have blatant decisions going against you,” he added.

It must be mentioned that both Roston Chase and Daren Sammy run the risk of being sanctioned by the ICC due to commenting about match officials publicly.