Tony BeccaWEST INDIES coach Roger Harper's criticism of the umpiring during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy could land him in trouble with the International Cricket Conference and if it does he has no one to blame but himself.
Minutes after the Windies' defeat, Harper not only blamed poor umpiring for the result but, based as quotes attributed to him, also, surprisingly, went pretty close to accusing one of the umpires of cheating.
According to the former West Indies offspinner, star batsman Brian Lara was the victim of a bad decision, his dismissal ruined the West Indies' hopes of saving the match and, after losing the first Test, also their chances of drawing the series.
With victory out of the question after they were set a target of 322 in less than a day, the West Indies, with six wickets in hand, appeared in with a chance of saving the game when Lara was given out in the first over after tea - caught at forward short-leg for 45 off offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
The West Indies went on to lose the match with the last wicket falling in the penulitmate over of the mandatory 20 in the final hour.
According to the television replay, the ball had hit the ground before going to Hashan Tillakeratne, and the West Indies had every reason to be disappointed.
It was not the first time, however, that a batsman had been given out when he was not out or that a Test match may have turned on a bad umpiring decision. And even if and when the third umpire has more say, even and if and when more use is made of television cameras, it certainly will not be the last time.
Such is the nature of the game, that there will always be bad decisions. There will always be times when batsmen who are not out will be given out, and when batsmen who are out will be given not out. As disappointing as it is at the time when a batsmen is given out when he is not out, over time, however, it balances out.
Kandy apart, the West Indies have suffered from some bad decisions in cricket - no question about that. However, as was the case last year against Pakistan in Antigua when two bad decisions saved them - one from the home umpire and one from the visiting umpire - they have also benefitted from some.
What is important is that players and especially officials say or do nothing to tarnish the image of a country or to question the integrity of the umpire and that is why coach Harper may be asked by the ICC to explain himself.
Maybe Harper could get away with saying that Lara was not out and that an umpiring decision led to the West Indies losing in Kandy. If, however, the quote attributed to him is accurate, he has some explaining to do.
The umpire who gave Lara out was Sri Lankan Gamini Silva and this is what Harper is quoted to have said: "I just have no explanation for it. I think all the Sri Lankans involved in the game contributed towards it. The outcome could have been totally different if Brian was there.
"The mood in the camp naturally was of disappointment. Not only in losing, but the manner in which the game was taken away from us."
In comparison to that, this is what captain Carl Hooper was quoted as saying: "We came close to saving it. If a couple of decisions had probably gone our way, things might have been different."
