Umpires clarify over Ganguly dismissal at Margao
Staff Reporter - 13 April 2001
The controversy regarding the dismissal of Saurav Ganguly, in the last
one-day match against the Australians at Margao is still continuing.
Both umpires who stood in the game, Subroto Porel and Francis Gomez,
hail from Kolkata and Porel's house has been stoned by irate fans.
After making 74, his highest score of the series, Ganguly was caught
fending at a short delivery from Glenn McGrath. Television replays
later showed that the ball was clearly above his shoulder. The Indian
skipper looked from one umpire to the other in an imploring gesture to
get the decision reversed but to no avail. Porel pointed out on Friday
that Ganguly would have been dismissed anyway since Ricky Ponting had
struck the wickets with a direct hit after taking the catch at
backward point as the Indian skipper wandered out of the crease.
Porel, who was stationed at square leg, explained that he did not
declare the ball illegal because of a pre-game understanding with his
partner and match referee Cammie Smith. "A day before the match my
partner Francis Gomez and myself had a meeting with the match referee
Mr. Cammie Smith. A decision was then taken that the umpire at the
bowler's end would declare no-ball under all circumstances. That is
why I did not make the call. Moreover, while playing the delivery,
Ganguly had advanced a bit and played the shot from an open-chested
position. That is why it was difficult for me to judge the delivery."
His partner at the bowler's end, Francis Gomez, however seemed unaware
of any such agreement and indicated that he had not declared the
delivery a no-ball since there was no signal forthcoming from Porel.
Both quite categorically said that if they had committed a mistake,
they were ready to accept it. "The controversy should end now. We may
have committed a mistake. However, in the course of a match these
things do occur."
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