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England fume over costly umpiring decisions following T20 defeat by India

Captain Eoin Morgan confirmed England would register their dissatisfaction with match referee Andy Pycroft

Rory Dollard
Monday 30 January 2017 16:43 GMT
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England appeal unsuccessfully against India's Yuvraj Singh in Sunday's match
England appeal unsuccessfully against India's Yuvraj Singh in Sunday's match (AP)

England were left fuming by umpire Chettithody Shamshuddin's performance in their Twenty20 defeat by India in Nagpur and will make their complaints clear to the match referee.

Shamshuddin had already made one regrettable decision, giving home captain Virat Kohli not out when Chris Jordan trapped him plumb lbw, when his poor judgement gatecrashed a thrilling conclusion.

England needed eight runs from the final over to seal the match - and the series - when the Hyderabadi official gave joint top-scorer Joe Root (38) leg before despite a sizeable inside edge. It was a blow England could not come back from as Jasprit Bumrah offered a death bowling masterclass to close out a five-run win.

Shamshuddin was not originally listed to stand in the match but the International Cricket Council lists him as an on-field umpire for Wednesday's winner-takes-all decider in Bangalore.

Assistant coach Paul Farbrace appeared to exchange words with the 46-year-old as the teams and officials shook hands after the match and captain Eoin Morgan confirmed England would register their dissatisfaction with match referee Andy Pycroft.

"Absolutely. We have an opportunity to do so before the next game. There's always feedback given through the match referee on our report," Morgan said.

"There is extreme frustration. It shifted momentum, the first ball of the 20th over. Losing a batsman who's faced 40 balls on a wicket that's not that easy to time it on is quite a bit of a hammer blow. It's proved very costly all things considered."

Invited to sympathise with Shamshuddin, who was battling the noise of 40,000 fans, Morgan frostily declined.

Jasprit Bumrah celebrates after winning the game for India on Sunday (AP)

"It's part and parcel of the job, to be able to cope with the pressure and make good decisions more often than not," he said.

"The fact that comes out of the game as a highlight is disappointing, it shouldn't be like that. It should be about a good performance by both teams and a really competitive game."

A wider question exists around the absence of the DRS referral system from the shortest format. Test and one-day international cricket both utilise reviews at the captain's discretion but there is a reluctance to involve technology in a format that is all about brevity.

For Morgan that notion is now outdated and the playing field should be levelled.

"The fact it's not used is a concern," he said.

"There is as much on the line as there is in a Test or a one-day match, so no reason why it shouldn't be used.

"Even if it's just for World Cup games you'd accept it. If this was a World Cup game and we were out of the World Cup or lost a World Cup final we'd be spewing."

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