Image Credit- Getty
The director of the Pakistani squad, Mohammad Hafeez,
feels that Pakistan’s historic Test victory over Australia at the MCG was lost
due to “inconsistent umpiring” and the “curse” of decision
review technology.
Pakistan was chasing 317 to win the fourth innings,
and they needed 98 runs with five wickets remaining when Mohammad Rizwan was
ruled caught behind off his glove’s wristband by Pat Cummins via a DRS review
after umpire Michael Gough had initially declared him not out on the pitch.
Third umpire Richard Illingworth determined that,
contrary to Rizwan’s protests to the on-field umpires, there was definitive
proof from Hotspot and Real-Time Snicko that the ball had come off the
wristband of the right glove.
With one Test remaining, Pakistan lost the series 2-0
and the match in four days after losing 5 for 18. That decision set off a
catastrophic collapse. Hafeez attributed the outcome to the umpiring and the
application of DRS technology.
“We made some mistakes as a team, we will take
that, we will address those things, but at the same time I believe inconsistent
umpiring and technology curse [has] really given us the result which should
have been different,” Hafeez said in the post-match press conference.
“I feel like these are the areas that need to be
addressed. I spoke to [Rizwan] and he’s a very honest person. He said he did
not even feel that it touched anywhere near the gloves. And what we saw, there
should be conclusive evidence to reverse the decision of the umpire. That’s
what I know. The umpire gave it not out and there was no conclusive kind of
evidence where the decision has to be turned over.”
Former ICC umpire Simon Taufel spoke on Channel
Seven’s broadcast in Australia in the aftermath of the Rizwan decision and
believed that the third umpire had made the right call.
“For me, conclusive evidence was the ball on top
of that wristband attached to the glove, with the spike [on Snicko],”
Taufel said. “Very comfortable from where I’m sitting that Richard
Illingworth the third umpire had conclusive evidence to overturn that
decision.”