Former ICC match referee Chris Broad has revealed that he was asked to "be lenient" in order to spare India an over-rate fine at one point during his time as a match official.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Broad did not reveal when the incident took place but that he received a call during a game in which India were behind the required over-rate. "India were three, four overs down at the end of a game so it constituted a fine," said Broad. "I got a phone call saying, ‘be lenient, find some time because it’s India’. And it’s like, right, OK. So we had to find some time, brought it down below the threshold.
"The very next game, exactly the same thing happened. He [Sourav Ganguly] didn’t listen to any of the hurry-ups and so I phoned and said, ‘what do you want me to do now?’ and I was told ‘just do him’."
Broad served as an ICC match referee from 2003 until February of last year, and oversaw 123 Test matches during that time, as well as 361 ODIs and 138 T20Is, totalling 622 international matches. He revealed during the interview that he was "happy to carry on" as an official, but that his contract was not renewed by the ICC.
"I dodged a lot of bullets, both politically and physically," said Broad, who was caught up in the 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lanka Test team in Lahore. "I look back and I think, ‘you know, 20 years is quite a long time to be doing that job’. I’m pleased not to be travelling to certain parts of the world.
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"And I was always someone who believed in right and wrong and in certain parts of the world it’s a bit like the River Ganges – right and wrong are so far apart and there’s a lot of dirty water in between them that you have to deal with, so I think as someone who comes from a right and wrong perspective, to last 20 years in that politically active environment is a pretty good effort."
During the 2023 Ashes, Broad was reportedly rebuked by the ICC for posting a meme relating to his son Stuart dismissing David Warner for the 17th time in Test cricket on X (then Twitter).
“I think we were supported by Vince van der Bijl (ICC umpires manager) while he was in position because he came from a cricketing background but, once he left, the management became a lot weaker. India got all the money and have now taken over the ICC so in many ways. I’m pleased I’m not around because it’s a much more political position now than it ever has been.”
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