FILE - Boland captain Clyde Reeves-Fortuin hits a shot off his pads in the CSA 1-Cup final against the Dolphins. The Dolphins were crowned champions after beating the Paarl team in the final.
Image: Ryan Wilkisky / Backpagepix
Cricket South Africa were very much in the headlines for all the off-field stuff in the week leading up to the CSA 1-Day Cup final. And, on the day of the final, the battle between bat and ball took another backseat after a plethora of terrible umpiring decisions.
The Dolphins managed to qualify for the showpiece match against Boland in Paarl, beating the Titans in the playoff after the Warriors were docked points for breaching CSA’s transformation rules.
But the final was marred by some rather ordinary umpiring, as the Dolphins took advantage of their good fortune on and off the field to win the title on Sunday. Boland will feel hard done by after umpire Lubabalo Gcuma, especially, seemed to get a couple of LBW decisions wrong from the naked eye.
Gcuma also sent Boland opener Grant Roelofsen back to the pavilion caught behind, although replays suggest the right-handed batsman’s bat was far away from the ball.
Cricket fans and pundits on social media slammed the umpiring, with former all-rounder John Kent posting on X saying: “At least three poor calls versus Boland so far. Disappointing to see in a final.”
Boland fought back bravely to post a competitive 247/8 after they were 23/4 and 92/6, partly because of the poor umpiring decisions.
Of course, umpires are human at the end of the day and there will be mistakes. But that is why the technology is there, and the overwhelming sentiment is that the Decision Review Technology should have been used in the final.
The umpires will be hung out to dry after the match, but the technology could have saved them in a match where there was so much at stake.
Boland, after finishing the season on top of the standings, bore the brunt of those questionable decisions and in the end it probably cost them the match. Because of the defeat, they missed out on their first One-Day title since 2000 and all the prize money and prestige that go with the victory.
It costs money to run DRS, but for such an important match, it should have been a no-brainer to use it, especially because of the pressure in a final..
The umpires should have done better, but CSA should have had their back and the technology as a safety net.
@JohnGoliath82
