Umpire criticises length of the tournament

Aleem Dar questions World Cup duration

Cricinfo staff

May 5, 2007

Steve Bucknor and Aleem Dar supervised the World Cup final that ended in pitch-black conditions © AFP

The duration of the World Cup, which spanned 47 days, has been questioned by Aleem Dar, the Pakistani umpire who stood in the final of the tournament. His comments come after the umpires and the match-referee were severely criticised for failing to apply the rules correctly in the rain-affected final at the Kensington Oval.

"It was a bit too long and in the end tired out the players and umpires," he said. "I think the World Cup should be of shorter duration."

Dar, however, defended himself when asked what went wrong as heavy rain and bad light interrupted the final, by saying the confusion did not occur because of the on-field officials (Dar and Steve Bucknor). "I think there was a communication breakdown and we acted on instructions from outside. But the feeling was that the match had to be completed on the reserve day but the captains told us this is the rule," he clarified. "At times mistakes do happen. The ICC and match officials have done the right thing by apologising for the mistake made in the final."

Dar, who has supervised 37 Tests and 88 ODIs, was standing in his first World Cup final while Bucknor was officiating his fifth successive final.

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Players/Umpires

Aleem Dar

Series/Tournaments

ICC World Cup