Simon Taufel acknowledged giving the wrong decision against Sachin Tendulkar. Simon Taufel, who was regarded as the best umpire in the world and even won ICC Umpire of The Year for five consecutive years from 2004 to 2008. But, he admitted his mistakes especially by giving Sachin Tendulkar out.
Simon Taufel recalled the time when England’s Paul Collingwood bowled to Sachin Tendulkar and the ball hit his shoulder. However, Simon Taufel thought it would go on to hit the wicket and gave Sachin Tendulkar out.
Photograph: Niklas Halle’n/AFP/Getty Images
Sachin Tendulkar Unhappy With The Decision Of Simon Taufel
Indian fans not only remember all of Sachin Tendulkar’s iconic knocks but they also vividly remember each time he missed out on scoring big. While the ‘shoulder before wicket’ dismissal will forever upset fans, there is also the dismissal from the 2007 Trent Bridge Test that doesn’t bring up fond memories.
In that match, Sachin Tendulkar was batting on 91 when he was incorrectly adjudged LBW by umpire Simon Taufel. The right-hander left a delivery from medium-pacer Paul Collingwood that nipped back and struck him on the front pad. On first viewing, it was clear that the ball had struck the pad well outside off stump but Simon Taufel raised his finger nonetheless.
Simon Taufel said on 22 Yarns podcast hosted by Gaurav Kapur, “Well, I’m thinking, shouldered arms, so benefit of the doubt probably to the bowler, and I’ve given Sachin out after a bit of thought.”
“Now, of course, Sachin’s not happy with the decision. It’s unusual for him to stand around, and he did stand there for a little bit of time, and then he went. I could see that he wasn’t happy.”
“[…] Later on Hawkeye showed that the ball was predicted to miss the off stump by maybe an inch. And I just knew what the response was going to be like from world cricket; so I didn’t open Cricinfo, I didn’t read any newspapers, I knew that I was going to be… not the flavour of the month in the media,” he added.
Sachin Tendulkar stood at the crease in disbelief for a few moments before walking off. The former India captain wasn’t ever known to be too expressive after umpiring decisions but his displeasure at that decision was there for all to see. Replays immediately showed that the ball was going over the off-stump.
Sachin Tendulkar, However, Asked Simon Taufel Not To Worry
Simon Taufel also went on to say that fans always forget that there was a wrong decision regarding Sachin Tendulkar helped him get a century during the 2005 Delhi Test against Sri Lanka. Simon Taufel, who umpired in 74 Tests, 174 ODIs, and 34 T20I matches from 1999-2012, also recalled the wrong decisions he gave, in which Sachin Tendulkar was the beneficiary.
The incident is from the India-Sri Lanka New Delhi Test of 2005, in which Sachin Tendulkar broke Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 34 Test centuries and made his 35th ton in the five-day format.
“The following morning I happened to pass by Sachin on my normal morning walk out to the middle […] and I come across Sachin and I said, ‘look, yesterday I got it wrong, you know? I’ve looked at it, I got it wrong.’ He said, ‘look, Simon, I know.’ He said, ‘you’re a good umpire, you don’t often get many wrong, it’s okay, don’t worry about it.'”
“And out of that sort of exchange, which wasn’t an apology for the sake of making him feel better or me feel better, it was just an acknowledgement that we were both out there doing our best.
“This is sport, and I wanted to acknowledge that I knew the fact that he was unhappy, and I was doing my best to make sure that that didn’t happen again. That was really the underlying message,” Simon Taufel maintained.
“[…] I’m a big believer that breakdowns lead to breakthroughs, and I think that was an example where Sachin and I had a moment that wasn’t particularly pleasant, and I wanted him to know that I took my job seriously and I was going to make sure that that didn’t happen again.
“And I think out of that exchange, that relationship bank account got a massive credit because I think that breakdown moment did lead to a breakthrough. We have an ongoing mutual respect for each other and our abilities, because I’ve got Sachin wrong a number of times, not just on that one occasion.
“I’ve got the best in the world wrong. And I’ve learned from all those examples, but one thing that will always be with me, apart from those mistakes, is the respect and the trust and the integrity of our relationships as we go forward,” Taufel concluded.
Mistakes do happen in cricket and in the future Taufel admits that he will try not to repeat his mistakes. He will instead try to learn from the mistakes and earn the trust of cricketers in the near future.