Chris Gaffaney and Joel Wilson will be replaced by Marais Erasmus and Ruchira Palliyaguruge.
The Ashes will have two brand new umpires when the series heads to Manchester after the opening three Tests were littered with errors, including a last-day shocker at Headingley that could have decided the Test.
The umpire Joel Wilson, who has made several on-field errors including one that could have decided the third Test at Leeds last week, and Chris Gaffaney, who had seven decisions overturned during that match, will not officiate in the Old Trafford or Oval matches.
Wilson had a record-equalling eight decisions overturned during the first Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston. And as the gripping Headingley Test drew to a close in tense scenes, Wilson denied Nathan Lyon an lbw shout with England needing two runs to win with one wicket remaining. Replays on that appeal showed that Headingley hero Ben Stokes was out.
Wilson and New Zealander Gaffaney will be replaced by Marais Erasmus and Ruchira Palliyaguruge for the fourth Ashes Test in Manchester next week. The third umpire will be Kumar Dharmasena.
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Umpires Aleem Dar and Joel Wilson had a tough outing even on the opening day of the Ashes 2019 when they took as many as seven wrong decisions on Day one of the first Test of Ashes 2019 at Edgbaston. Umpiring has been under increased scrutiny since the World Cup 2019 final, where umpire Kumar Dharamsena awarded England crucial runs in the final over of the match.
The first wrong decision was taken in the second over. David Warner had edged the ball to the wicketkeeper. Even though Stuart Broad was not as convinced as Buttler, the keeper, the umpire turned him down. The second blunder of the day was committed in the fourth over of the innings. Warner was adjudged leg before wicket but Hawkeye showed that the ball had been missing the stumps by a considerable margin.
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In July, Wilson was elevated to the ICC’s Elite Umpire panel. During the World Cup, Gaffaney failed to spot a big no-ball from Mitchell Starc. The first series in the new World Test Championship, the Ashes has seen the DRS also criticised for its inaccuracy.
After the Leeds match, Australia skipper Tim Paine said he would be putting someone else in charge of the team’s reviews following his side’s defeat. Paine, however, refused to criticise Wilson’s original not out decision, even if he disagreed with the West Indian umpire’s verdict.
Stokes termed the DRS as “broken” while stating that the technology got it “completely wrong”. During the first three Ashes Tests there have been an estimated 50 decisions reviewed. Of these, 19 have been overturned by the third umpire.
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