West Indies Coach Sammy Questions Umpire Holdstock's Consistency After Contentious Test Decisions

Sammy Voices Concerns Over Umpire Holdstock's Decisions

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has publicly questioned the consistency of TV umpire Adrian Holdstock following a series of contentious decisions during the second day of the Barbados Test against Australia. Sammy's frustration boiled over, leading him to seek clarification from match referee Javagal Srinath regarding the decision-making process.

Roston Chase was given out LBW against Cummins, but West Indies believed the spike on UltraEdge was owing to an inside edge © AFP

Sammy stated, "I have noticed, especially with this particular umpire, it's something that for me started in England. It's frustrating. I just ask for consistency in the decision-making,"

Contentious LBW and Catch Spark Debate

The controversy centers around two key incidents. The first involved Roston Chase, who was adjudged lbw to Pat Cummins shortly after lunch. The West Indies team believed that a spike on UltraEdge indicated an inside edge, but the decision stood. Sammy commented, "In our opinion, we saw the ball deviated onto the pad," referring to the dismissal that broke a promising 67-run partnership with Shai Hope.

A few overs later, Shai Hope inside-edged a delivery from Beau Webster, and Alex Carey took a catch. Replays suggested the ball may have touched the ground, but Holdstock ruled that Carey's fingers were underneath it, leading to another dismissal that drew criticism.

Sammy Demands Fairness and Clarity

"I'm just saying, judge what you see," Sammy emphasized. "If you see the same thing and one is not out, there is even more doubt on the other than you give it out… from the images that we've seen, the decisions are not fair enough for both teams… I just want fairness."

When asked about a formal complaint, Sammy remained non-committal, saying, "You'll have to wait and see for that." He clarified that his concerns extended beyond the events of Day 2, citing previous instances involving the same umpire.

Sammy elaborated, "You don't want to get yourself in a situation where you're wondering about certain umpires. Is there something against this team? But when you see decision after decision, then it raises the question… You don't want to go in a Test match having that doubt."

The West Indies coach stressed the importance of clarity in the decision-making process. "So I want to have that conversation as to the process... so we could be all clear… you don't want to be going into a Test match not trusting the umpires… We're just looking for some clarity as to the decisions."

Protecting Players from Umpiring Focus

Sammy also emphasized his desire to shield his players from dwelling on umpiring controversies. "We know the rules. We know fines going all across the board," he stated. "I don't want them to focus on that… look at the Test match… some of these decisions and we're still in a position to win."

Australian Perspective

Even the Australian team acknowledged the debatable calls. Mitchell Starc noted an earlier incident where they believed they had Chase lbw, but the decision was not overturned.

Starc commented, "There's been some interesting ones… a couple more have gone against the West Indies than us… One for us [against Chase] looked like there was a gap between the bat and the ball, it cost us 40-odd runs, but then a contentious one to then get the wicket… It sort of felt like, or looked like, that the Snicko and the images were out of sync to some capacity."