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Like hundreds of thousands of cricket lovers, probably millions of people around the world, I watched in horror as Kumar Dharmasena, the television umpire, supported the decision by the New Zealand umpire Tony Hill to give Usman Khawaja out caught behind from a snick that did not happen.
The decision of the on-field umpire was acceptable, with the reservation that Khawaja had the right to challenge it with all the modern technology available to the television umpire.
The ball from Graeme Swann was of a full length. Khawaja made a half-hearted swat/drive at it. The ball lept from the pitch, turned viciously and was caught by wicket-keeper Matt Prior high above his shoulders while it was careening off to second slip.
The batsman was so stunned, initially, by umpire Hill giving him out that it took him a couple of seconds to think about lodging his appeal against the decision.
But the referral was made. And then the madness started.
It was clear from the first pictures of the dismissal that Khawaja got nowhere near the ball.
So it was infuriating that Dharmasena played the tapes time and time again from several different angles. It was as if he was searching deliberately for some evidence, any evidence, or the possibility of evidence that the fatal nick was made.
But the tapes refused to provide even a flicker of evidence. The last re-runs of the tapes provided no evidence of a snick and compelling evidence of NO snick.
So like virtually everyone watching around the world, and Shane Warne in the television commentary box, I sat back, relaxed and waited for the decision to allow Khawaja to continue his innings.
When umpire Hill raised his finger to confirm the dismissal I literally fell out of my chair.
The bottom line about this decision is that there has to be some retribution against Kumar Dharmasena for his grievous mistake. That retribution should be an immediate sacking.
It is just not good enough for the integrity of the umpiring system that a mistake as obvious and as inexplicable as this is allowed, as the cricket phrase has it, to ‘go through to the keeper.’
Cricket is a game where respect for the decisions taken by the umpires is integral to the ethic and spirit of the game. It is ‘just not cricket’ to show dissent to the umpire.
But when the umpire trashes the decision-making process he throws into jeopardy the entire process of adjudication.
And there is a further matter to consider. We live in a litigious age. It can only be a matter of time before a player takes an umpire and the cricket bodies that support that umpire to court to explain why decisions that can’t be explained away have been taken.
The bottom line is that with all the technology available to the television umpire there should not be a single case of a mistake being made. Where a mistake is made the incompetent umpire has to be dismissed, forthwith.
Kumar Dharmasena made a mistake that can’t be explained. He has to go. The form of dismissal should read: Caught Out For Incompetence.