Paul Reiffel is the new Steve Bucknor: Frustrated fans slam umpiring in Lord’s Test-OxBig News Network

Umpire Paul Reiffel was heavily criticised by fans on Day 4 of the Lord’s Test match after a string of poor decisions against India. Reiffel, a well-respected umpire in the international circuit, got things horribly wrong—first against the Indian pacers and then against Shubman Gill on the penultimate day of the Test match.

Reiffel gave Gill out caught behind late on Day 4 of the game, when India were reeling under pressure in their chase of 193 runs. Gill missed a full-length ball from Brydon Carse, which went straight to the keeper. As England went up in appeal, Reiffel did not hesitate to raise his finger.

An irritated Gill straightaway called for the Decision Review System, which showed that the ball had missed the edge of his bat by an inch or two.

Fans slammed Reiffel for poor umpiring in the Test match, pointing to incidents where he did not give tight decisions in favour of India just hours earlier on the same day of play.

| Lord’s Test Day 4 Score and Updates |

This was not the first time that Reiffel gave a contentious decision against India on Sunday, July 12. During India’s effort with the ball, Reiffel denied Mohammed Siraj an LBW appeal against Joe Root, despite two of the batter’s stumps being visible at the time of the ball striking the pad.

As India called for a DRS review, replays showed that Root had shuffled across significantly and was struck in line. At the point of impact, the leg stump was clearly visible, raising India’s hopes of a breakthrough.

However, the ball-tracking system predicted that the delivery would just clip the leg stump. Root had stepped down the pitch, likely trying to counter any movement off the surface. As it turned out, the decision stayed with the on-field umpire as only a fraction of the ball was shown to be hitting the stumps – resulting in the dreaded ‘umpire’s call.’

Captain Gill and Siraj were visibly shocked and dismayed. Siraj punched the air in frustration, as India were going through a rough patch where luck seemed to be deserting them.

Gavaskar, who was commentating at the time, did not hold back in his assessment. He questioned the reliability of the ball-tracking data, suggesting that it showed exaggerated movement.

“You’re saying it was going to kiss the leg stump? There’s no way. It was knocking the leg stump off. The only good thing is that India have not lost the review,” Gavaskar said.

Siraj was convinced he had claimed his third wicket of the day, only to be denied by the technology.

“I am flabbergasted. Having looked at that replay, I thought it was crashing into the inside part of the leg stump. Watching it in real time, I couldn’t believe it was missing,” former England batter Jonathan Trott added on air.

Umpires vs India in Lord’s Test

Earlier on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test, India fast bowler Akash Deep survived two back-to-back LBW calls from umpire Sharfuddoula. Batting late on Day 3 of the Test match, Akash Deep was pinned in front of the stumps twice by Chris Woakes in the 114th over of the Indian innings. Given out both times by the on-field umpire, Bangladesh’s Sharfuddoula, Akash Deep called for the DRS review and survived.

– Ends