BC Cooray hangs up the white coat

The public vent their anger © Getty Images

BC Cooray has hung up his white coat after 23 years of umpiring and the one of the most controversial Test matches of modern times. Unsurprisingly, there was no public farewell - his last performance simply left too much bitterness in Sri Lanka.

Sadly, Cooray, who turned 60 this year and umpired in 23 Tests and 89 ODIs, was therefore compelled to retire, will forever be remembered for his woeful umpiring in the second Test against England in Kandy last March.

That game was marred by a conservative estimate of 13 clear umpiring mistakes. The South African, Rudi Koertzen, played his part, but it was 'Bad Call' Cooray, as he was cruelly named afterwards, that made the greatest blunders.

In England's first innings television replays showed that he reprieved Nasser Hussain, who went on to score a match winning hundred, on three separate occasions. He then shocked an already exasperated Muttiah Muralitharan by turning down a straightforward caught and bowled catch off Graeme Hick.

There was one poor decision though that will forever remain etched in the memory: the dismissal of Sanath Jayasuriya in the second over of Sri Lanka's second innings. Sri Lanka already had their backs to wall after Marvan Atapattu's dismissal in the very first over and were struggling to overcome a 90-run first-innings deficit.

Jaysuriya pushed out tentatively to Andrew Caddick's first delivery, a wide, low full toss, and edged the ball into the ground. It ballooned up into the air and Graham Thorpe completed a stupendous diving catch at third slip. The England players started celebrating immediately, but Jayasuriya stood his ground. After consultation with Koertzen, Cooray raised his finger. Jayasuriya was horrified, frozen still through incomprehension. He trailed back to pavilion in a painfully slow manner and the boisterous English supporters jeered him crudely. Television replays showed that the ball had bounced a foot after hitting the bat.

According to Cooray he had his misgivings at the time: "I had my doubts about the catch, but Rudi Koertzen had no doubts and I therefore had no other option but to give Sanath out." This may sound like an abdication of responsibility, but Cooray complains now that he was hamstrung by the ICC.

"I specifically asked permission to refer a bump catch to the television at an ICC conference, but they refused, like they have done this year too," he revealed. "Players and spectators want the right decision. There has to be some way to monitor the game and ensure that the field umpires make the correct decisions."

Cooray admits now to his mistakes. "I had many sleepless nights after that Test Match," he says. "It was terrible, so unfortunate, easily the worse game that I have ever had in my 23 year career. No umpire goes into a match prepared to make mistakes, but a lot of them happened." What though was the reason for so many mistakes? "I don't know, it just happens, like it did to Peter Manuel in the first Test," he says. "Normally he makes so few mistakes."

After the first Test Match in Galle the media spotlight focused on the umpiring. Each decision was repeatedly and suspiciously examined by commentators and spectators alike (there were televisions in the crowd, which only helped to fuel the fervour). The pressure must have been intolerable and the most common explanation was that Cooray, harassed by the players and watched by the media, buckled under the pressure; a charge he resolutely denies.

"In any Test match there is pressure, especially for the home umpire. Even when the crowd started to protest, the pressure did not affect me," he claims. "Over the years I have grilled my mind and learnt how to shut out the exterior influences and focus solely on the ball."

If pressure was not the cause, then simple incompetence appears the only conceivable explanation, though more cynical observers may have other darker explanations. Certainly, there is no case for home bias; Sri Lanka were firmly on the receiving end, to the extent that he was accused in jest of succoring favour from the British visa authorities.

In truth, players maintain that the former Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation employeee never engendered a great deal of respect. Famously, Nasser Hussain was once given out leg-before wicket in South Africa when he snicked it through the slips and one current player remarked, "He always looks down on the players and is very bossy, always telling us how to play the game." A member of the national team complained, "He is too stubborn. Everyone makes mistakes, but BC Cooray never admitted to making them."

Cooray is quick to point out that the task of umpiring in the sub-continent is not an easy one: "The easiest place that I have umpired is in England. There are less bat-pad catches, the ball maintains it's shine, the sightscreens are brilliantly white and the climate is less demanding." Interestingly, he says, "The light in Sri Lanka can be so bright that you have to half close your eyes."

He does though have some views about how to improve the standard of umpiring in Sri Lanka and applauds the cricket board's recent decision to appoint five full-time umpires.

"The decision is a good one. The situation is much better now than it was when I started. There is an opportunity now for much more professionalism," he believes. He hopes that more young umpires get a chance to train abroad: "I umpired inter-state cricket in Australia and club cricket in the UK. It helped me immensely, allowing me to grow in confidence."

Cooray has no plans for the future: "I just want to put my feet up and relax for a while. I have things to attend to at home." Nevertheless, being only the second Sri Lankan umpire, after K.T. Francis, to have retired from international cricket, suggests a role in cricket administration is likely. For the meantime though, he may be best advised to keep a low profile!