Applied the law without fear or favour: Harper on Sachin LBW decision

Daryl Harper and Sachin Tendulkar. Pic/Youtube

Australian umpire Daryl Harper, who was part of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Elite Panel of Umpires in 2011, is perhaps best remembered in India for giving batting great Sachin Tendulkar out LBW despite the ball hitting his shoulder.

It is a decision that has been spoken about for many years after and Harper says that he still doesn't lose any sleep over it.

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"I look back on that 'Tenducker' decision every day of my life. It's not that I sleep badly or have nightmares and replays dancing through my brain. When I walk through my garage I am confronted by a huge canvas print of Sachin and Glenn McGrath, taken momentarily after the ball made contact," Harper was quoted as saying by Asianet Newsable.

"You may be disappointed to know that I'm still extremely proud of that decision because I considered the action before me and applied the law without fear or favour."

Tendulkar had ducked into a short delivery that didn't rise from Australian fast bowling great Glenn McGrath during the 1999 Adelaide Test. The ball ended up hitting the then Indian captain on the shoulder and the Australians appealed vociferously. Harper proceeded to raise the finger.

He says that MSK Prasad, who was then wicketkeeper of the Indian team and went on to become the chief selector for the side many years later, told him that Tendulkar thought it was the right decision.

"Sachin was the Indian captain at that time and ICC officials informed me that he didn't note that decision when he assessed my performance on the standard post-match paperwork," he said.

"In December 2018, I met Indian selector MSK Prasad during lunch at Adelaide Oval during the Australia-India Test match. We probably hadn't seen each other since that Test 20 years earlier at the same beautiful ground. MSK was the Indian wicketkeeper, playing in his fourth Test when he took six catches in the match."

"Sachin said he was out…Sachin said he was out," the Indian selector exclaimed excitedly. "Well, I thought he was too, I confirmed."

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