W
Whingeing Pom
Guest
At the moment I can't help wondering if it's worth touring Sri Lanka specifically & the Indian sub-continent in general.The umpiring decisions that England recieved in losing the first Test here went beyond a disgrace it was just one big bloody joke.
Conservastive estimates would say that of the 20 wickets we lost 8 of them we're definitely not out,Alec Stewart was given out LBW to a ball bowled by a left arm spinner(Jayasuria) going over the wicket that pitched about 10inches(25cm) outside of leg stump, Hick was given out caught behind to one that obviously made no contact with the bat & in the 2nd innings when we were no wickets down & the openers looked in no trouble at all they gave Trescothick out to one that came off his arm rather than bat.There were also some other very dodgy LBWs that beggared belief.If these sort of decisions were being given against both sides then I would put it down to bad umpiring but when it's only one side that's copping them then in my book it's cheating pure & simple-we managed to bowl 170 overs at their batters in the 1st innings & I didn't see the umpires giving anyone out then that wasn't.We (England) haven't been to Asia for a number of years due to the legacy of previous incidents but I for one was pretty impatient to get us back there as I feel it's important to play everyone & perhaps naively I thought that the days of Umpires affecting the result's of Test matches was over in fact I thought thatwe would get beaten in Pakistan & Sri Lanka by better teams in these conditions but whilst on the one hand I have been pleasantly surprised by how England have played I just can't stomach this cheating & personally I would be happy if we just told them to Fu@k off & brought the side home.The whole atmosphere wasn't helped by the wicket keeper & close fielders going up for everything no matter how ridiculous (cos let's face it they knew that it might be given)-oh how I'd like to get the pricks on a fast green top in England with Goughy/White/Hoggard steaming in at them & giving them a bit of chin music.
Still I look forward to the Ashes where u know the Aussies will play it hard & push things to the limits but that there are actual limits & you're not left with a nasty taste in your mouth.
Conservastive estimates would say that of the 20 wickets we lost 8 of them we're definitely not out,Alec Stewart was given out LBW to a ball bowled by a left arm spinner(Jayasuria) going over the wicket that pitched about 10inches(25cm) outside of leg stump, Hick was given out caught behind to one that obviously made no contact with the bat & in the 2nd innings when we were no wickets down & the openers looked in no trouble at all they gave Trescothick out to one that came off his arm rather than bat.There were also some other very dodgy LBWs that beggared belief.If these sort of decisions were being given against both sides then I would put it down to bad umpiring but when it's only one side that's copping them then in my book it's cheating pure & simple-we managed to bowl 170 overs at their batters in the 1st innings & I didn't see the umpires giving anyone out then that wasn't.We (England) haven't been to Asia for a number of years due to the legacy of previous incidents but I for one was pretty impatient to get us back there as I feel it's important to play everyone & perhaps naively I thought that the days of Umpires affecting the result's of Test matches was over in fact I thought thatwe would get beaten in Pakistan & Sri Lanka by better teams in these conditions but whilst on the one hand I have been pleasantly surprised by how England have played I just can't stomach this cheating & personally I would be happy if we just told them to Fu@k off & brought the side home.The whole atmosphere wasn't helped by the wicket keeper & close fielders going up for everything no matter how ridiculous (cos let's face it they knew that it might be given)-oh how I'd like to get the pricks on a fast green top in England with Goughy/White/Hoggard steaming in at them & giving them a bit of chin music.
Still I look forward to the Ashes where u know the Aussies will play it hard & push things to the limits but that there are actual limits & you're not left with a nasty taste in your mouth.
