Follow UsThe Decision Review System (DRS) was in the eye of the storm, and so was TV umpire Adrian Holdstock during Day 2 of the first Test between West Indies and Australia in Barbados.
The hosts, West Indies, were on the receiving end of some of the harrowing decisions that came courtesy of the DRS and the TV umpire, two of them being very contentious, involving their skipper, Roston Chase, and the best batter on the day, Shai Hope.
Both Hope (48) and Chase (44) were well set at the time of their dismissal, and, as a result, it cost the West Indies dearly, resulting in them being able to take only a slender lead of 10 runs at the end of the second innings.
Reacting to the DRS conundrum, Daren Sammy, West Indies coach, said that errors on the part of humans are fine, but one must seek consistency.
“I just had a chat with the match referee trying to find some understanding of what the process is. We only hope for consistency in the decision-making. When there's doubt in something, just be consistent across the board,” Sammy said during the end-of-the-day press conference on June 26.
"From the images that we're seeing, the decisions are not fair enough for both teams. I asked the match referee for a sit down. We're all humans, mistakes will be made. I just want fairness,” he added.
Mitchell Starc, who claimed three wickets and was the highest wicket-taker for the Aussies in the innings, agreed that West Indies had the rough end of the stick more than they.
“There've been some interesting ones. A couple more (DRS calls) have gone against the West Indies than us. As players, you can only ask a question, we don't use the technology to make the decision,” he said.
Even after bad umpiring and DRS taking the limelight on the day, the Test remains evenly poised heading into Day 3. After the West Indies were dismissed for 190, they got Australia four down for 92, with the visitors leading by 82 runs.