You have the right to question Aleem Dar

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< 1 minute read

One of these men was right (it was Aleem Dar)

But it isn’t recommended.

At the Rose Bowl yesterday, Andrew Strauss opted to review a possible edge. This was a ridiculous decision. Not because Paranavitana hadn’t nicked it (he had), but because if Aleem Dar couldn’t detect an edge with certainty, technology certainly wouldn’t be up to the task.

The man is inhumanly competent as an umpire. Doubtless the ICC keep a record of how many times each umpire’s decisions have been overturned following a review, but do they also keep a record of how many have been wasted? To question Aleem Dar is to dash a review against the rocks of his good judgement.

He stands there for six hours a day, watching every ball of a Test match and he gets virtually everything right. The man’s concentration puts Alastair Cook’s to shame and he judges line and length better than Sachin Tendulkar.

Here’s a rule for international captains: Don’t review anything at Aleem Dar’s end.

If the ICC are looking for technology to improve the standard of umpiring, they should fund research aimed at cloning Aleem Dar.

DON'T BE LIKE GATT!

Mike Gatting wasn't receiving the King Cricket email when he dropped that ludicrously easy chance against India in 1993.

Coincidence?

Why risk it when it's so easy to sign up?

8 comments

  1. I’m certainly keen on Dar Duplication, having always felt the solution to the UDRS controversy was to scrap it and breed Simon Taufel clones instead.

  2. There is only one solution to this problem. Persuade Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel to..you know..combine their DNA. We can name the baby Fugoffsnickohotspothawkeyewardane(of course it will be Sri Lankan).

    1. Excellent stats, Aerouant. Interestingly, the stats demonstrate conclusively that international cricketers have a strong tendency to ignore any advice given to them on this website, in that only one umpire has had more DRS calls against him than Aleem Dar.

  3. I am full of admiration for Aleem Dar – I do always enjoy a test match more when he is on the field. Fantastic umpire, I think he’s wonderful!

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