David Warner, the victim of a marginal lbw call against Sri Lanka in the 2023 World Cup game between the sides, wants umpires to be held accountable for wrong decisions and suggests their statistics to be shown on the big screen.
Warner was hit by Dilshan Madhushanka against Sri Lanka, but the ball appeared to go towards his leg side. Surprisingly, on-field umpire Joel Wilson made the call, which Warner quickly checked.
However, tracking the ball was useless as it turned out the ball hit the stump of his leg and Warner had to follow the referee’s advice. The left-handed pitcher was clearly annoyed by this decision, slamming his bat into the ground and verbally expressing his anger before walking away. He stopped as he neared the boundary rope, turned around, appeared to say something to Wilson again, and disappeared into the locker room.
Two days after the incident, Warner is not willing to forgive and wants more clarity from both technology and referees to prevent calls like this. “‘I got so frustrated that I squirted loudly. If something hits you from the outside of your leg, you know it’s basically going towards your leg.’ What happened to Joel while we were out?” I asked him why he released it. He said the ball swung backwards.
“From my perspective on repeats, that wasn’t the case. Seeing it play out on replays is a little frustrating.”
Warner also told the ICC that umpire statistics could be displayed on a big screen to help players better understand who is likely to give a favorable decision in a 50-50 decision. I asked them to consider gender.
“When it comes to the field, you can absolutely tell which referee will make a 50-50 decision. From my point of view, that’s what’s frustrating. I’m not biased about anything. But as a player, sometimes You may have such feelings.
“There should be some responsibility. If you made a wrong decision, accept it and apologize. It’s obvious that players are fired for poor performance. We were never told what was happening, so the statistics are just an indicator.”
Warner returned with scores of 41, 13 and 11 in three World Cup matches, with Australia winning the match against Sri Lanka. They start with losses against India and South Africa, then beat Lanka and will next face Pakistan on Friday, October 18th.
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