Sammy 'looking for some clarity' as contentious TV umpiring decisions pile up

West Indies coach Daren Sammy has raised questions about the work of TV umpire Adrian Holdstock during the opening Test against Australia in Barbados after the second day's play involved a number of contentious reviews.

Sammy met with match referee Javagal Srinath after play on Thursday to seek clarity over the decision-making, adding that he held concerns about Holdstock's officiating from the recent ODI series in England, where he was TV umpire for two matches and on-field for the other.

The two key decisions which West Indies felt went against them on the second day were an lbw against captain Roston Chase off the bowling of Pat Cummins, despite what they believed was evidence of an inside edge, and Shai Hope being brilliantly caught behind by Alex Carey off Beau Webster with the catch ruled clean after it was sent upstairs by the on-field umpires.

"We are just trying to find some sort of understanding as to what the process is," Sammy said. "We only hope for consistency. That's all we could ask for. When there is doubt in something, just be consistent across the board.

"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."

When asked to clarify whether he was specifically referencing Holdstock, Sammy said: "Yeah, look, you don't want to get yourself in a situation where you're wondering about certain umpires. Is there something against this team? But when you see decision after decision, then it raises the question. I know he's here for the series. You don't want to go in a Test match having that doubt.

"So I want to have that conversation as to the process… so we could be all clear. Because, at the end of the day, you don't want to be going into a Test match not trusting the umpires. And that's not what our team is about. So we're just looking for some clarity as to the decisions."

Asked whether West Indies would be lodging a formal complaint, Sammy said, "You'll have to wait and see for that."

On Chase's dismissal, which came at a crucial moment after lunch with the sixth-wicket stand with Hope on 67, he said: "In our opinion, we saw the ball deviated onto the pad."

With regards to Hope's wicket, an inside edge that was held to his left by a diving Carey, Sammy did not say he did not believe it was a clean catch but drew a comparison with the reprieve Travis Head received on the first day when a catch taken by Hope behind the stumps was ruled to not have carried.

"I'm just saying, judge what you see," Sammy said. "If you see the same thing and one is not out, there is even more doubt on the other one than you give it out. Again, I don't know what he's seen but from the images that we've seen, the decisions are not fair enough for both teams. We're all humans. Mistakes will be made. I just want fairness."

Australia also thought they had a decision go against them in the first over of the day when an lbw appeal against Chase was referred with the belief it was pad first, which initial replays suggested could be the case, before Holdstock determined there was insufficient evidence to overturn the on-field decision. Mitchell Starc questioned whether the images and audio on the replays were matching up.

"There's been some interesting ones," Starc said. "Obviously a couple more have gone against the West Indies than us. One for us [against Chase] looked like there was a gap between the bat and the ball, it cost us 40-odd runs, but then a contentious one to then get the wicket.

"As players, you can only ask a question. We don't use the technology to make that decision. It sort of felt like, or looked like, that the Snicko and the images were out of sync to some capacity."

Starc added that the Australians thought that Head's edge through to Hope the previous day was out.

Sammy, meanwhile, was aware of the risk of commenting on the match officials and had not wanted his players speaking on the decisions after play. "We know the rules. We know fines going all across the board," he said. "I don't want them to focus on that. Yes, we're kind of shooting ourselves in the foot by dropping so many catches, but look at the Test match, [us] against our own selves, some of these decisions, and we're still in a position to win."