Bangladesh batter Towhid Hridoy expressed dissatisfaction with some decisions of the on-field umpires during their Group D match against South Africa at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium Monday.The Tigers lost the Twenty20 World Cup nail-biter by just four runs in the last over.
The defeat was especially heartbreaking due to a few controversial decisions from the umpires Richard Illingworth and Sam Nogajski.
Hridoy left disappointed with umpiring decisions
Apart from some wide balls [owing to the height of the delivery], Hridoy in the post-match press conference complained about the umpire’s decision which deprived Bangladesh of four “bye” runs.The incident occurred in the 17th over.
Mahmudullah was on strike for Ottneil Baartman’s second delivery.The ball had hit the front of the pad after Mahmudullah missed the flick.
The ball passed wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock to the boundary but the umpire accepted South Africa’s appeal for leg-before wicket.Mahmudullah reviewed the decision which showed that the ball was travelling down leg missing the stumps.
The decision was overturned but despite the ball going to the boundary off the deflection, Bangladesh did not get four runs because the umpire had already turned the ball “dead” by calling Mahmudullah out.
“It was not a good decision to be honest. It was not a good thing in such a close match. The game might have been different if we had got those four runs,” said Hridoy, who scored a crucial 37 off 34 deliveries.
Speaking on the International Cricket Council’s regulation on such incident in a game, Hridoy said: “I do not control the regulations. But those four runs were crucial for us. I think the umpire’s call had made the difference. They are humans and can make mistakes but this has cost us. Also, there were I think two balls that they didn’t call wide.
“Even one or two runs matter in a low-scoring game. I think there is room for improvement.”
Bangladesh had made a winning start to the tournament winning against Sri Lanka by two wickets in Dallas.Following the defeat against South Africa, Bangladesh in Group D will now look at the last two matches, against the Netherlands and Nepal, if they want to get to the Super 8 stage.
Bangladesh team will travel to Saint Vincent in the Caribbean Tuesday and take on the Dutch and Nepal this Thursday and next Monday respectively.