Broad at center of 'walking' controversy
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NOTTINGHAM, England: England's Stuart Broad faced criticism Friday after playing on when he should have been given out at a pivotal moment of the first test with Australia - but most of the anger was directed at umpire Aleem Dar.Broad was on 37 when he nicked a delivery from Ashton Agar to Australia captain Michael Clarke at slip, but he stood his ground and was given not out by Dar.Clarke had already used Australia's two referrals, and Broad's decision to continue sparked a debate over the batsman's ethics, Clarke's decision-making and Dar's future as a test umpire.Australia's Petter Siddle claimed it was "no big deal" and asked "how many people have ever walked?" However, pundits were less forgiving, both toward Broad and Dar.Former Australia spinner Shane Warne blasted Dar on Twitter, fuming that "He's always had no idea."He added: "We all make mistakes and it's a very tough job being an umpire, but when Dar continually makes crucial mistakes why does he keep getting a gig?"Another former Australian player, Rodney Hogg, also argued Dar should be taken off the test circuit."If you can't drive they take your licence off you," he tweeted. "But if you can't umpire you just keep doing test matches."The Decision Review System, which allows teams two unsuccessful referrals per innings, may have reduced so called "howlers" but under its current format it can't eliminate them.Clarke wasted his final referral on an optimistic shout for lbw against Jonny Bairstow to a ball that was heading well down the leg side, and England batsman Kevin Pietersen suggested he should have hesitated, before defending Dar's honor."You've got to use it (the DRS) well, you only get two goes at it," Pietersen said. "Aleem Dar is a fantastic umpire and he's been rated one of the best umpires in world cricket over the last few years.Former Australia bowler Glenn McGrath also suggested Clarke had to share the blame."DRS was brought in for obviously wrong decisions," McGrath told the BBC. "That's the way Alastair Cook uses it and hopefully that's the way Michael Clarke will use it from now on."Although Broad was likened to an errant schoolboy by commentators Jonathan Agnew and Henry Blofeld on the BBC's test match special, many cricketers absolved him of responsibility."You can't blame Broad for not walking," Warne said. "Hats off I say if you nick it to first slip stand your ground and get given not out!"Pietersen also backed his teammate."We play hard, we play fair," he said. "Each individual player in the middle has the responsibility to wait for the umpire's decision.
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