Umpire, not Broad, to blame for controversial 'not out' decision in Ashes

Cricket legends have backed England bowler Stuart Broad, saying that he is not to blame for the farcical not-out decision on Friday during the third day of the first Ashes Test.

Broad remained at the crease despite edging a ball from Australian Ashton Agar and being caught by captain Michael Clarke at slip via the pad of wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, and the Australians were angered further after umpire Aleem Dar failed to notice the nick and gave him not out.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, however, cricket greats have called any anger directed at Broad as 'misguided and unfair', saying that the responsibility lands fairly and squarely with under-fire umpire Dar, who inexplicably missed a giant nick from Broad's bat at Trent Bridge.

Stating that there should not be any moral argument, legendary England batsman Geoffrey Boycott said that with the exception of former wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, each Australian he had ever played with and have watched believe in standing, adding that it is up to the umpire to give out.

Boycott further said that all the anger, disappointment and upset should be directed at the umpires, adding that the ICC needed to act soon if the umpires keep on making continuous poor decisions.

The report further said that the incident again called into question the point of the decision review system, with Australia unable to appeal to the third umpire having already burned their two challenges.

Backing Broad, former England captain Michael Vaughan said that the review system was brought in to get rid of the howler, adding that he could not understand why Dar could not spot the nick and overturn the decision.

Even Australian legends spoke up in support of Broad, with champion bowlers Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath saying that Broad was well within his rights to stand his ground, which however took the opposite stance of their former teammate Gilchrist, who famously gave up his wicket in a World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka.

Stating that the umpire is at fault, McGrath said that a player is allowed to stand his ground, adding that Broad would have walked if Australia had one appeal left, for which Australia needed to get off their high horses and accept the matter.

Meanwhile, Warne called for the 2011 ICC umpire of the year to be sacked, saying that he is not a good umpire as he always gets the crucial decisions wrong.