West Indies head coach Darren Sammy has been penalized for openly criticizing controversial decisions made by the TV umpire. Sammy was fined 15 percent of his match fee and handed one demerit point for his remarks, which came during the recently concluded Barbados Test between West Indies and Australia.
This is the first demerit point for the two-time T20 World Cup-winning former captain in the past two years.
The incident occurred on the second day of the Test, when Sammy questioned two contentious dismissals. One involved Roston Chase, who was given out LBW. During the review, UltraEdge displayed multiple spikes, but it wasn’t clear whether they came from the bat or another source. TV umpire Adrian Holdstock upheld the on-field umpire’s out decision.
Later, wicketkeeper Alex Carey took a sharp catch to dismiss Shai Hope. The decision was referred to the third umpire to determine if the ball had touched the ground. Again, Holdstock ruled it out.
After the day’s play, Sammy raised concerns about both decisions during the press conference. He also hinted at past issues with Holdstock, questioning the umpire’s consistency and fairness.
“We’re just trying to understand the process,” Sammy said. “We can only hope for consistency. That’s all we’ve been asking for. When there’s room for doubt, we want the same standard to be applied across all teams. No one wants to be in a situation where you’re questioning whether a particular umpire is biased against a team. When you keep seeing decisions like that, it raises questions.”
He continued, “I’ve noticed, especially with this umpire… it seems to have started back in England. It’s very disappointing. All I’m asking for is consistency in decision-making.”
Following these comments, the ICC charged Sammy under Article 2.7 of its Code of Conduct, which relates to making public criticism or inappropriate comments about an incident occurring during an international match, or about any player, team official, match official, or team.
Sammy accepted the sanction handed down by match referee Javagal Srinath, meaning a formal hearing was not required.
Roston Chase, who captained West Indies in the Test, also strongly criticized the TV umpire’s decision after the match.
Holdstock, the South African official at the center of the controversy, is set to officiate the next two Tests of the series as an on-field umpire. So far, he has overseen 25 Tests, 90 ODIs, and 81 T20Is in various umpiring roles.
