Australia bite tongues over Broad decision

Australia are privately fuming but biting hard on their tongues and declining to express any public anger over the reprieve of Stuart Broad after the umpire Aleem Dar failed to detect a thick edge to slip from the bowling of Ashton Agar.

In the second major umpiring controversy in successive days at Trent Bridge, England were only 232 ahead when Broad stood his ground. Australia's players reacted with considerable dismay at the decision, which they could not refer to the third umpire after using up their DRS allocation earlier in the day.

Broad was still in occupation alongside Ian Bell at the close, by which time the hosts' lead had reached 261. While the players' immediate response on the field was plain, and the coach Darren Lehmann made his displeasure plain on the dressing room balcony, the fast bowler Peter Siddle did his best to avoid critiques of Broad, the umpires or the current protocols for the use of technology, saying only that he had only seen a bigger edge not given out "in the backyard maybe off my brother".

"How many people have ever walked? Some. That's right, some," Siddle said. "At the end of day it's the umpires' decision. The umpires make the decision and players stick with it. We just went about it. You finish the over and go through to the next over. If you watched out there, there wasn't a big deal made of it. We got stuck in and just kept working to get the wicket.

"Obviously people are going to be frustrated but it's hard out there for players, for umpires. It's a long day, it's a tough day for people out there. Things are going to happen and we just have to deal with it. That's just a part of the game and spectators have to understand that - that there are times when things like that happen. Obviously it's a long day and it's hard for everyone involved. We can't be blaming anyone."

Siddle's acceptance of Broad's failure to walk - common practice in professional cricket for a generation and more - was in contrast to howls of outrage on social media sites and from media commentators, many of who judged Broad's behaviour as immoral and unsporting.

Michael Holding, the former West Indian fast bowler, contended that Broad's behaviour was comparable to that of the West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, who falsely claimed a catch against Pakistan in a Champions Trophy match at The Oval in London last month. Ramdin was banned for two one-day games by the ICC match referee, who happened to be Broad's father, Chris.

"What Stuart Broad did amounts to the same thing as Ramdin," Holding told Sky TV. "He knew he had hit the ball. The ICC fined Ramdin and suspended him for 'actions that were contrary to the spirit of the game'. What Stuart Broad did is contrary to the spirit of the game. He played the ball and stayed there."

The day after England sought clarification from the ICC following a Hot Spot operator error that contributed to Jonathan Trott's lbw dismissal, Dar's howler was not referred to technology that would have picked up the mistake because Australia no longer had any recourse to do so. Umpires do have the right to refer some decisions themselves if in doubt, but for now are limited to low catches and bump balls. Dar's refusal of Australia's appeal was as unequivocal as it was mistaken

"You can't do anything about that," Siddle said of the burned referrals. "You use them because you think you're going to get a result early on and you don't. You can't just hold them and put them in the back pocket and say 'I'm going to get one in the afternoon' and save it for that. You use them when you think there's a chance of getting a wicket and that's what they're there for."

For their part, England stood by the view that Broad was well within his rights to stand and wait for Dar's decision. It is debatable whether he would have done so had Australia still been able to use a video referral, but his team-mate Kevin Pietersen did not think Broad should have taken any other action in the circumstances.

"Each and every player who plays for their country, their club side, for their franchise or their county has the opportunity to wait for the decision the umpire makes and you respect the umpire's decision," Pietersen said. "We play hard. We play fair and each individual has the responsibility and makes the judgement if he will wait for the umpire's decision. Aleem Dar is a fantastic umpire and he has been rated one of the best umpires in world cricket over the last few years. Wait and respect his decision."

Contrary to reports, no apology has been forthcoming from the ICC to the ECB regarding the Trott decision on the second day.