‘Is there something against this team?’: West Indies coach Daren Sammy fined for slamming umpire Adrian Holdstock in AUS Test

After his open criticism of third umpire Adrian Holdstock during the first Test of their new World Test Championship cycle against Australia in Barbados, West Indies coach Daren Sammy was penalised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday.

Sammy was fined 15 per cent of his match fees for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct on Day 2 of the first Test. Sammy was found guilty of breaching Article 2.7 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “public criticism of, or inappropriate comment in relation to an incident occurring in an International Match or any Player, Player Support Personnel, Match Official or team participating in any International Match, irrespective of when such criticism or inappropriate comment is made.”

The Windies side went down by 159 runs against Pat Cummins’ side in a low-scoring match that had its share of drama on and off the field, with TV umpire Holdstock’s dubious decisions costing the home side heavily. Skipper Roston Chase and Shai Hope were at the receiving end of questionable calls that marked their dismissals. At the end of Day 2’s play, Sammy asked for consistency, particularly aiming at Holdstock on previous counts.

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“You don’t want to get yourself in a situation where you’re wondering about certain umpires,” he said. “Is there something against this team? But when you see decision after decision, then it raises the question.”

“We are just trying to find some sort of understanding as to what the process is. We only hope for consistency. That’s all we could ask for. When there is doubt in something, just be consistent across the board,” Sammy told reporters after stumps on Day 2.

“I have noticed, especially with this particular umpire, it’s something that for me started in England. It’s frustrating. I just ask for consistency in the decision-making,” he added.

‘Nothing ever happens to officials’

Sammy admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction from match referee Javagal Srinath which also includes a demerit point, his first in 24 months. Newly-appointed Windies captain Chase was also vocal about the lack of accountability for the critical calls made by match officials.

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“On the officiating: yeah, it’s frustrating because as players when we mess up, when we get out of line, we are penalised harshly. Sometimes we’re even banned. It might be in terms of a monetary fine or something. But the officials? Nothing ever happens to them. They just have a wrong decision or questionable decision and life just goes on.

“You’re talking about guys’ careers. One bad decision could make or break a guy’s career. So I just think that it should be an even playing ground … I think that there should be some penalty put in place when you have blatant decisions going against you.

“I think it [the umpiring] was a big factor in the game. Because as I said, you see what batters can do when they get in. Me and Hope were going well and then we just had some calls that went against us. We even had a catch that went against us in the first innings when we were bowling, so you never know what the score could have been. But I don’t want to harp on it.”

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