7 Worst Umpire Decisions in Cricket History
Even the best umpires can have a bad day — and in cricket, one wrong finger or missed call can change history. Across eras, from the pre-DRS days to the high-tech modern era, the sport has witnessed moments that left fans fuming and players stunned. These are the worst umpire decisions in cricket history — calls so controversial they reshaped matches, broke tempers, and in some cases, even rewrote the rules of the game.
1. 1995 MCG — Muttiah Muralitharan’s No-Ball Calls vs Darrell Hair
The Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1995 remains one of the most divisive moments in cricket umpiring history. During Sri Lanka’s second innings, Australian umpire Darrell Hair shocked the cricket world by repeatedly calling Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing, no-balling him seven times in just three overs.
At the time, Muralitharan was a 23-year-old spinner still finding his place in world cricket. His unusual action — a permanently bent elbow caused by a congenital deformity — gave the illusion of straightening during delivery. Hair judged it illegal under Law 24, which forbade straightening of the arm. Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga protested furiously, but Hair stood his ground, insisting he was only enforcing the law as written.
In response, the ICC commissioned bio-mechanical studies to measure elbow flex in bowlers. The results were eye-opening: almost every bowler — even the purest actions — showed some degree of natural extension. Muralitharan’s deformity simply made it more visible. This revelation pushed the ICC to rewrite the laws, allowing up to 15 degrees of permissible elbow extension.
Years later, Muralitharan was fully cleared, went on to claim 800 Test wickets, and retired as one of the greatest bowlers ever. Darrell Hair, meanwhile, never backed down, saying he “called what he saw”. His decision may have been technically correct by 1995 standards, but it exposed how subjective umpiring judgment could be — and how technology was needed to make it fairer.
This incident still ranks among cricket’s worst umpire decisions, not for malice, but for how dramatically it revealed the sport’s flaws — turning controversy into lasting reform.
2. 2008 Sydney Test — When Umpiring Sparked an International Storm
The Sydney Test of January 2008 remains one of cricket’s most heated flashpoints — not just for the result, but for how umpiring decisions shaped it. The match between Australia and India in the 2007–08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy spiralled into controversy after a series of questionable calls by umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson left players and fans furious.
Across four tense days at the SCG, several decisions went against India — missed edges, dubious catches, and harsh LBWs. The most talked about was Andrew Symonds’ edge off Ishant Sharma on 30, clearly caught behind, yet given not out. Symonds went on to score 162*, a knock that turned the match. Other calls — including a premature end to play on Day 2 that denied India a review, and the late dismissal of Rahul Dravid to a non-edge — deepened frustration.
India eventually lost the Test, but the uproar overshadowed everything else. In the post-match storm, the BCCI lodged an official complaint, while fans and media in both countries traded accusations of bias. Bucknor later admitted he had made “two mistakes that may have cost India the match.” It was a rare public acknowledgment — but the damage was done.
The aftermath was seismic. India threatened to pull out of the tour, the “Monkeygate” racism controversy emerged simultaneously, and ICC officials rushed to defuse tension. Bucknor was removed from officiating the next Test, an extraordinary move that underlined how seriously the episode had shaken confidence in elite umpiring.
Out of that chaos, though, came reform. The Sydney Test accelerated cricket’s adoption of the Decision Review System (DRS), ensuring umpires had technological backup for critical calls. It was a turning point — a moment that showed human error could tilt entire matches, and that fairness required more than experience; it required help.
More than a decade later, the 2008 Sydney Test still stands as one of the worst umpire decisions controversies in cricket — not for one error, but for how a series of small mistakes erupted into a global crisis of trust.
3. 2006 Oval Test — The Ball-Tampering Forfeit That Shook Cricket
The 2006 Oval Test between England and Pakistan will forever be remembered as the day cricket witnessed its first-ever Test match forfeiture — a dramatic standoff between the umpires and the Pakistan team that tested the sport’s sense of fairness and diplomacy.
On the fourth day of the Test, umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove inspected the ball and judged that Pakistan had tampered with its condition. Under Law 42.3, they awarded five penalty runs to England and replaced the ball. The decision stunned Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and his players, who vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
After tea, Pakistan refused to take the field in protest — a symbolic gesture meant to express dissent, not to abandon the match. But when they stayed in the dressing room beyond the allowable time, the umpires returned to the middle, removed the bails, and declared the match forfeited. It was an extraordinary step — never before had a Test ended that way.
The fallout was immediate and intense. Pakistan’s board condemned the umpires, accusing them of damaging the team’s integrity without conclusive proof. The ICC initially backed Hair and Doctrove’s decision, insisting they had acted strictly within the Laws of Cricket. But the politics around the case quickly escalated — debates over evidence, procedure, and racial bias dominated headlines.
Darrell Hair later became the center of controversy after an email surfaced in which he offered to resign from the ICC Elite Panel in exchange for a financial settlement, damaging his credibility further. Inzamam was later cleared of ball tampering but fined for bringing the game into disrepute by refusing to play.
The match result remained a forfeit — the first in the 129-year history of Test cricket — a stark reminder of how fragile the relationship between umpires and teams can be.
This Oval Test remains one of the worst umpire decisions not purely for the call itself, but for how its handling fractured trust on both sides. It exposed the fine line between enforcing the laws and respecting the spirit of the game — a lesson cricket still carries today.
4. 2019 World Cup Final — The Six That Should Have Been Five
Few cricket moments have ever been dissected as much as the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup Final at Lord’s — a match that ended not just in drama, but in confusion. When England and New Zealand clashed in the biggest game of all, one umpiring call in the dying overs changed everything — and became one of the most debated moments in the sport’s modern history.
In the final over, England needed nine runs from three balls. As Ben Stokes dived to complete a second run, a throw from Martin Guptill ricocheted off his bat and sped to the boundary. On-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena, standing with Marais Erasmus, signalled six runs — two completed runs plus four for the overthrow. The crowd erupted, and that call effectively tied the match. England would later win on the boundary count rule.
But after the celebrations faded, the scrutiny began. According to Law 19.8 of the MCC’s Laws of Cricket, runs completed only count if the batters had crossed at the time of the throw’s release. Replays showed Stokes and Adil Rashid had not crossed when Guptill released the ball — meaning England should have been awarded five runs, not six, and Rashid, not Stokes, would have been on strike.
Umpire Dharmasena later admitted it had been a “judgmental error”, though he stood by the fact that it was made in real time, without replay assistance. The MCC confirmed that the interpretation was indeed incorrect under the written law, sparking global debate about whether third umpires should assist with non-dismissal incidents like overthrows.
In the end, no rule was broken maliciously — but the consequence was immense. That single call shaped the outcome of a World Cup Final, and in doing so, reignited calls for greater technological oversight in all aspects of umpiring.
This Lord’s controversy remains one of the worst umpire decisions in cricket history — not because of intent, but because it highlighted how even small human errors, under crushing pressure, can alter the sport’s biggest moments.
5. 2015 Lord’s ODI — Ben Stokes and the “Obstructing the Field” Debate
One of the rarest dismissals in cricket’s long history unfolded at Lord’s in September 2015, when Ben Stokes became only the seventh player ever to be given out “Obstructing the Field.” The incident, during the second ODI between England and Australia, triggered a storm of debate over intent, interpretation, and the fine line between instinct and obstruction.
England were chasing 310 when Mitchell Starc fired a throw back at the stumps to catch Stokes short of his ground. Diving to complete the run, Stokes instinctively reached out with his left hand, and the ball struck his palm, deflecting away. The Australians immediately appealed. After a consultation between on-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Tim Robinson, the decision went upstairs to the third umpire, Joel Wilson, who ruled Stokes out under Law 37.1 — obstructing the field.
The law states that a batter is out if, “at any time while the ball is in play and without the consent of a fielder, they wilfully attempt to obstruct or distract the fielding side.” The key word — wilfully — became the centre of argument. Stokes and England argued that his hand movement was reflexive, a self-protective reaction to a throw that was heading towards him. The Australians, led by Steve Smith, maintained that Stokes’ action was deliberate and altered the course of play.
The crowd at Lord’s booed the decision, while pundits and former players lined up on both sides. Shane Warne defended the ruling, saying intent was clear, whereas Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain argued that the law’s subjectivity made it impossible to judge fairly in real time.
The incident placed the umpires’ rare discretionary powers under the microscope, reminding fans that cricket’s laws still leave room for human interpretation. It also reignited discussion about whether player safety should outweigh the letter of the law in close-range deflection cases.
Though England lost the match, Stokes’ dismissal entered the record books — not just as an oddity, but as one of cricket’s worst umpire decisions in per
6. 2007 World Cup Final — The Match That Ended in the Dark
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup Final in Barbados was meant to be a grand celebration of one-day cricket — Australia chasing a hat-trick of titles, Sri Lanka led by Mahela Jayawardene, and a packed Kensington Oval ready for a spectacle. Instead, it became infamous for one of cricket’s most farcical endings, when umpires and match officials misapplied the bad-light regulations, leaving the final overs to be played in near darkness.
Rain interrupted the game multiple times, forcing the contest to be reduced to 38 overs per side. Australia, powered by Adam Gilchrist’s blazing 149 off 104 balls, posted a mammoth total of 281. When Sri Lanka began their chase, showers returned again, and Duckworth-Lewis adjustments followed. With the result already leaning heavily towards Australia, the drama arrived at the finish.
As dusk settled over Bridgetown and light deteriorated rapidly, the umpires — led by Rudi Koertzen, Steve Bucknor, Aleem Dar, and Billy Bowden — instructed play to continue, seemingly unaware that the game could be declared complete after 20 overs under the tournament rules. The players could barely see the ball; fielders guessed positions, and batsmen swung blindly. Finally, after confusion and deliberation, play was halted — only for the officials to recall the teams and resume the final three overs in pitch-black conditions, believing the match could not end officially otherwise.
The images were surreal — the world’s biggest cricket final finishing in gloom, with players squinting to see. The ICC later issued a formal apology, admitting the officials had misinterpreted the playing conditions. Match referee Jeff Crowe and the umpiring team were sanctioned for the mistake.
The fiasco deeply embarrassed cricket’s governing bodies. It raised serious questions about the communication and situational awareness of elite umpires, and how pressure can cloud even the most experienced decision-makers.
While it wasn’t a single wrong call, the 2007 World Cup Final stands among the worst umpire decisions in cricket history — a collective lapse in judgment that turned a global showcase into a case study in how not to manage a match.
7. 2001 Kandy Test — When One Umpire Lost the Plot
Few Test matches have ever descended into as much officiating chaos as the 2001 Kandy Test between Sri Lanka and England, remembered for one of the most error-riddled performances by an umpire in modern cricket. Standing at the centre of the storm was B.C. Cooray, a Sri Lankan umpire whose string of questionable calls turned a tense contest into a controversy that left both sides frustrated.
The second Test of the series had begun evenly, with England battling to stay in contention against a strong Sri Lankan side led by Sanath Jayasuriya. But as the match progressed, decisions by Cooray became the story. Over the course of the game, he was alleged to have made a dozen or more errors — including several incorrect LBW verdicts, missed edges, and questionable catches that swung the momentum of the match.
England’s frustration boiled over when Graham Thorpe and Nasser Hussain were given out under contentious circumstances, while Sri Lankan players were visibly uncomfortable at the mounting criticism directed at the umpiring. Even the local press acknowledged that Cooray appeared to lose confidence as the game went on — hesitating before decisions, consulting excessively with his colleague, and seemingly second-guessing every appeal.
When the match ended, Sri Lanka won by 88 runs, but the cricketing conversation was not about the result — it was about the officiating. England’s captain Nasser Hussain diplomatically called it “one of the hardest games I’ve played,” while pundits were less restrained, labeling it “a day when umpiring standards fell apart.”
The fallout was swift. The ICC Match Referee at the time noted the complaints, and Cooray’s international career effectively ended after the series. His errors forced the ICC to review its Elite Panel selection process, emphasizing performance consistency, neutral appointments, and accountability through post-match reports.
The 2001 Kandy Test remains a textbook example of how fragile credibility can be in umpiring. It wasn’t corruption or bias — just a collapse in composure under pressure. But for players and fans alike, it remains one of the worst umpire decisions sagas in cricket history, a reminder that even a single official’s bad day can define an entire match.
Closing Thoughts
In the end, these moments serve as reminders that cricket’s beauty lies in its human element — even its flaws. The worst umpire decisions in history didn’t just stir outrage; they pushed the game forward, forcing better technology, clearer laws, and stronger accountability. Every raised finger or overturned call today carries echoes of those controversies — proof that while errors fade, their lessons shape the spirit of modern cricket.
