Sports

Umpiring is a tough job and Dharmasena struggling to keep pace

Published

4 years ago

2022/07/24

Rex Clementine in Galle

Cricket’s finest writer Christopher Martin-Jenkins went onto become the President of MCC. It was he who invited Kumar Sangakkara to deliver the Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s and it remains the best annual Home of Cricket speech ever. CMJ had a superb sense of humour to drive home some harsh truths about the sport. His take on umpires was interesting. He once wrote, ‘I never questioned the integrity of an umpire. Their eyesight, yes.’

There’s nothing wrong with Kumar Dharmasena’s eye-sight but he must be the first person to admit that he’s going through his leanest patch as an official. Several of his decisions have come under the spotlight particularly two of those that determined the outcome of two series.

Dinesh Chandimal was on 30 when he nicked Mitchell Starc to the keeper. The only guy who didn’t hear the nick was Dharmasena and of course Chandimal, who tricked the umpire by shaking his head. Australia could have reviewed but they had burned all their reviews just before that and had to bite the bullet.

Chandimal just didn’t stop after scoring a hundred but he went onto get a double ton and while doing so rubbed salt into Aussie wounds. His onslaught of Starc, whom he hit for three sixes out of the ground to reach the milestone was the last straw. You could see the pain in the Aussie faces. They were graceful to shake hands with the batsman for this was Chandimal at his best. Nothing from Starc though. He certainly has an axe to grind with both Chandimal and Dharmasena, the former for not walking and the latter for being incompetent.

Take nothing away from Chandimal though. After the let off he batted superbly and was a treat to watch, particularly that last wicket stand of 49 runs in which Kasun Rajitha contributed zero.

If Sri Lanka were laughing ear to ear in the Australia Test, they were reminded that this game is a great leveler in the next Test match against Pakistan. They were feeling the pinch on this occasion as Dharmasena turned down a leg before wicket shout of Abdullah Shafique. He was on four and went onto score a match winning 160 not out as Pakistan chased down a 342, a new record in Galle.

Shafique’s was an umpire’s call though and Sri Lanka had not much reason to grumble. Anyway Shafique was dropped thrice during his innings. So, Sri Lanka had themselves more than Dharmasena to blame. However, with Dimuth Karunaratne copping an almost similar dismissal in the second innings, you felt that the umpire was lacking consistency.

There were many other decisions that Dharmasena had got wrong. During the four Tests in Galle, four different umpires officiated along with Dharmasena who being the local umpire stood in all four games. Nitin Menon, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough and Marias Erasmus had decent games and Dharmasena’s errors were being exposed badly especially when the other umpire wasn’t getting many decisions wrong. Wonder whether fatigue had taken to Dharmasena?

It’s been a great run for Kumar Dharmasena as an elite panel umpire. He was a banker at HNB when his former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga as Board Chairman fast-tracked him as an international umpire. There was a howl of protest by the umpiring fraternity and the matter went up to Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge. Arjuna stood his ground backing his former team mate. His argument was that in a bid to encourage former Test cricketers into umpiring you had to give them incentives. Fair point.

But when the same Ranatunga, who was in Galle to witness the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka, fears that his man is losing the plot then Mr. Dharmasena will have to do some soul searching.

We all remember West Indies winning the T-20 World Cup in 2016 after Carlos Brathwaite smashed Ben Stokes out of the park in that maniac last over. Not many remember that Dharmasena had saved the Windies thanks to his attention to minute details. That was his highest point in umpiring. The lowest point came three years later at Lord’s when he messed up the final.

All umpires make mistakes but Dharmasena is making them regularly. It’s been a great ride to see him making tremendous progress as one of world’s top umpires. But his recent blunders are too glaring. Umpires like Ruchira Palliyaguru and Ravindra Wimalasiri are waiting on the wings for an opportunity.

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Agha calls for ‘sportsman spirit’ after controversial dismissal

Published

6 hours ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

Salman Agha reacted furiously after his controversial dismissal [BBC]

Salman Ali Agha said that he would have done things ‘differently”, after Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran him out in controversial circumstances in the second ODI in Dhaka.

Agha, who made 64 from 62 balls, had been backing up at the non-striker’s end when Mohammad Rizwan drove the ball back towards him. He was still out of his ground as Mehidy swooped round behind him in an attempt to gather, and Agha had appeared ready to pass the ball back to the bowler before Mehidy reached down to grab it first and throw down the stumps.

Agha reacted furiously to the dismissal, throwing his gloves and helmet down in disgust at the decision. However, he later came to the post-match press conference, ahead of captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and player of the match Maaz Sadaqat, to clear the air.

“I think sportsman spirit has to be there,” Agha said. “What he [Mehidy] has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit. We haven’t done this [type of thing] previously, we would never do that in the future as well.”

Agha explained that he had been trying to pick up the ball to give to Miraz, thinking it was likely to have been called dead. “Actually, the ball hit on my pad and then my bat,” he said. “So I thought he can’t get me run-out now, because the ball already hit on my pad and my bat.

“I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that, but he already decided [to make the run-out].”

Agha however regretted his angry reaction. “It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff,” he said. “If you ask me what would I have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment.”

He was also involved in a robust exchange with Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das, though he didn’t divulge many of the details.

“I can’t remember what I was saying and I can’t remember what he was saying,” he said. “I’m sure I wasn’t saying nice things, and I’m sure he wasn’t saying nice stuff as well. But it was just heat of the moment, so we are fine.

Asked if he had patched things up with Mehidy, Agha said: “I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I’ll find him.”

Pakistan won the match by 128 runs via the DLS method.

[Cricinfo]

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Bahrain & Saudi Arabia Grands Prix to be cancelled

Published

15 hours ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

The grands prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were scheduled for next month (BBC)

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.

A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.

Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.

Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.

The race in Bahrain was scheduled to be on 12 April with Jeddah the following weekend.

Consideration was given to holding events at Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy or Istanbul Park in Turkey.

But it was accepted that the time to organise a race at any of those locations was too short, and there was little chance of securing a hosting fee.

The decision will mean there is a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and Miami on 3 May.

(BBC)

Sports

Rehan, Ramiru guide Royal on day two

Published

16 hours ago

2026/03/14

Thilina Walpola

Royal College made steady progress in reply to their arch rivals’ first innings total as skipper Rehan Peiris and Ramiru Perera guided them to 175 for four wickets at stumps on day two of the 147th Battle of the Blues at the SSC ground on Friday.

‎Royal needed only 51 overs to reach their end-of-day total after S. Thomas’ College had earlier adopted a cautious approach before being bowled out for 302 runs.

‎Royal suffered an early setback when open batsman Hirun Liyanarachchi was dismissed for naught in the very first over, caught behind by Aaron Kodituwakku off the bowling of Gimhan Mendis.

‎Skipper Rehan Peiris then steadied the innings, repairing the early damage with two useful partnerships. He first added 41 runs for the second wicket with Udantha Gangewatta and followed it up with a 34-run stand for the third wicket alongside Sri Lanka Under-19 skipper Vimath Dinsara.

‎Dinsara struggled to find fluency during his stay at the crease, managing 11 runs off 30 balls before being trapped leg-before by Gimhan Mendis, who finished the day with two wickets.

‎Rehan continued to anchor the innings and produced the most productive stand of the Royal innings when he combined with Ramiru Perera for a vital 78-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The Royal skipper’s determined knock finally ended on 63 when he was dismissed by Ludeesha Matarage.

‎From there, Ramiru Perera and Yasindu Dissanayake ensured there were no further setbacks, batting cautiously until bad light forced the umpires to call off play.

‎Perera remained unbeaten on 70, an attractive innings that included ten boundaries, while Dissanayake provided solid support at the other end as Royal closed the day strongly.

‎Earlier in the day, resuming from their overnight score, the Thomians continued with their ultra-cautious approach, scoring at just over two runs per over. Reshon Solomon top-scored with 66 runs, while Ludeesha Matarage and Raphael Hettige chipped in with useful contributions in the twenties.

‎S. Thomas’ were eventually bowled out for 302 just before the lunch interval on the second day, having consumed 124 overs during their four-session first innings.

‎Gagan Gamage was the pick of the Royal bowlers with impressive figures of four wickets for 49 runs. He received good support from Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi, who claimed three wickets for 64 runs, while Himaru Deshan picked up two wickets for 43. Ramiru Perera also chipped in with a wicket to complete the Thomian innings.