The problem with cricket

The Ashes have been on, and, while I don't often watch cricket, I couldn't pass up the chance to watch at least some of the series, given I'm a citizen of both countries involved. It's been tight and entertaining, but I can't help feel that too much of it comes down to the luck of the umpiring decision. In the match England won, at Lords, three Australian batsmen were incorrectly given out in their last innings when replays showed they shouldn't have been. And in this deciding match at The Oval, two of England's top order (Strauss and Bell) have been given out off what should have been no-balls. In a game where there can be fifty or a hundred runs between wicket-taking balls, that potentially makes a match-changing difference.

There's just that irritating sense of pointlessness behind the game when umpiring mistakes are as likely to decide the game as the skill of any of the players.