Mike Gatting Disapproved of Ricky Ponting’s Conduct with the Umpire
Mike Gatting, former English batsman has regarded Australian skipper Ricky Ponting’s protest at the decision of Aleem Dar, the umpire for the fourth Test match of Ashes series, as completely unacceptable.
Ponting dared confronting the two times “umpire of the year award” winner Aleem Dar when he had referred a decision of the English batsman Kevin Pietersen to DRS. Brad Haddin, the wicketkeeper for team http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 had sensed an edge by the batsman at the ball
of Peter Siddle, but when the television decision also supported the verdict given by the umpire, it left the Australian captain infuriated.
Right after the television verdict, the furious Ponting was observed jabbing his finger and furiously arguing with Dar and Tony Hill, who was the second umpire in the ground.
Gatting, the man who had led the team England to win Ashes series back in 1986-87 tour, and who has expressed his exasperation over Ponting’s confrontation with the umpires, was himself involved in displaying a similar kind of act against umpire Shakoor
Rana, in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 during a series in 1987.
While talking in a programme of a radio station of an international news broadcasting company, the former captain said, “This is what the DRS system was supposed to negate. You question umpires by referring (a decision) but you shouldn’t question umpires
(further).”
Referring to the similar act he himself had been accused of, Gatting said it was more of a personal insult to him, but in regard of Australian skipper’s act, he was of the view that when technology was there to help out, everyone should have agreed upon
its impartial role.
He further said that with the help of the latest technological equipments, an attempt was made to stop the howlers and to make the accurate decisions. He lamented the fact that Ponting had not only questioned the umpire’s decision, he also went on objecting
the verdict which had been given by the television.
Gatting, however, accepted Ponting’s passion for cricket, but he insisted that what the Australian skipper did was completely wrong, particularly when a system was in place to sort out the issue. He hoped for Ponting to suffer a severe ban.
“The system has taken a lot of antagonism out of the game and we’ve got to the stage where it’s working quite well, and it is sad when somebody has to question a decision after it has been referred. I think there is an unwritten law that once you have referred
it, that is it. Something has to be done but it will be interesting to see what the ICC think of it” concluded Gatton.
Tags: