Bad umpiring: Isa Guha slams officials after no-ball denies Chris Woakes Josh Hazlewood’s wicket

By India Today Sports Desk: Controversy erupted early on Day 2 of the Ashes Test match after Chris Woakes was denied the wicket of Josh Hazlewood. Woakes, in the 85th over of the match, edged Josh Hazlewood back to the slips but was denied the wicket after umpires felt that he had overstepped the mark.

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The Australian batsman got a thick outside edge as he poked at the back of a length delivery around off, and the ball went straight to the fielder at second slip. The English team erupted in celebration, believing they had secured Hazlewood’s wicket awarding Woakes his first 5-wicket-haul since his comeback into the Test team.

The incident was further amplified when renowned British cricket commentator Isa Guha weighed in on the matter. Guha, a former England cricketer who played in the 2005 and 2009 World Cups, expressed her disapproval of the umpire’s decision, calling it “very bad umpiring.”

England’s fan group Barmy Army was left infuriated as well as they questioned the decision with a freeze-frame from the incident.

The pacer, however, remained undeterred by the incident and picked the wicket of Hazlewood, Australia’s last batter in the 91st over of the match. This time, Woakes’s delivery was a little shorter but in the same channel as before. Woakes’s fifer limited Australia to a total of 317 runs in the first innings of the match. Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh jointly top-scored for the Australia team with 51 runs to their name.

The Ashes 2023 has been tightly contested and has been quite controversial at times. Alex Carey’s runout of Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s sparked a mega controversy in the series and turned the English crowd against the Australian team. Australia captain Pat Cummins and batter Steve Smith were met with boos whenever they stepped into the ground.

Australia are currently leading the Ashes 2023 by 2-1 margin after 3 Test matches.