It took just five bowls for the Big Bash League umpires to record their latest howler, with Sydney’s Usman Khawaja trapped plumb LBW.
Luckily for the Thunder, the skipper was given not out in a decision that shocked both Australian cricket greats Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist.
“Wow. You don’t get much more out than that,” 7Sport commentator Ricky Ponting lamented.
Fox’s Gilchrist agreed.
Front on, and live, I thought (it was) definitely out,” he said.
Replays showed the Xavier Bartlett delivery crashing into middle stump with Khawaja’s bat nowhere near the ball.
Exactly why the umpire gave it not out is not clear.
But it just adds to the laughing stock the BBL umpires have become this season with no DRS technology used by Cricket Australia.
Just hours earlier Perth star Mitch Marsh was fined a whopping $5000 for his foul-mouthed reaction to an umpire shocker in the Qualifier Final loss against the Sydney Sixers.
Marsh was given out caught behind when replays showed he clearly missed the ball.
And just last month Test legend Shane Warne slammed the BBL umpires as “a joke” when Khawaja, again, was given a life by the men in charge.
On that occasion, Scorcher AJ Tye had Khawaja clearly caught behind but the Thunder skipper didn’t walk.
Sunday night’s terrible decision could hurt the Brisbane Heat, with the match a knock out final — the winner to go on and face the Scorchers on Thursday for a spot in the final.
