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| November 28, 2001 | Wednesday | Ramazan 12, 1422 |
Windies blame umpires
COLOMBO, Nov 27: West Indies coach Roger Harper launched an astonishing attack on umpires and Sri Lankan cricketers Tuesday, saying both cost his team the Test series here.
Harper said the controversial dismissal of star batsman Brian Lara on the final day of the second Test at Kandy Sunday was the reason for his team’s defeat.
Sri Lanka won the match by 131 runs to take a decisive 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
“Lara’s dismissal was the most pivotal moment of the game,” Harper was quoted as saying in the state-run Daily News newspaper.
“I just have no explanation for it. I think all the Sri Lankans involved in the game contributed towards it. The outcome could have been totally different if Brian was there.
“The mood in the camp naturally was of disappointment. Not only in losing, but the manner in which we thought the game was taken away from us.”
Sri Lankan umpire Gamini Silva adjudged an in-form Lara caught at short-leg by Hashan Tillakaratne after the batting superstar had made 45.
Television replays, however, showed the ball hit the ground before being held by the fielder off left-arm spinner Niroshan Bandaratilleke in the first over after tea.
The West Indies’ hopes of salvaging a draw receded with Lara’s dismissal as they were shot out for 190 in the penultimate over of the day.
Harper’s comments could come under scrutiny by the International Cricket Council, which prohibits players and team officials from speaking against umpiring decisions.
West Indies skipper Carl Hooper echoed the coach’s senitments, saying his team had a chance of saving the match and keeping the series alive.
“We came close to saving it (the second Test), but if a couple of decisions had probably gone our way, things might have been different,” he said.
The left-handed Lara is the only consistent batsman in the inexperienced West Indies squad, having defied versatile off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan to score 338 in four innings in the series.
“The Brian Lara we see here is different,” Harper said. “His batting here has been so good. He is much more compact. He is accumulating runs rather than playing great innings.”
The third and final Test starts at Colombo on Thursday.—AFP
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