Home umpires favour their own teams in Test matches

The introduction of neutral umpires in Test cricket led to a drop in the number of LBW decisions going in favour of home teams, a study has revealed. The findings from research by economists, published by the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society , come amidst renewed debate on whether neutral umpiring is still required in Test matches following the introduction of the Decision Review System (DRS). Economists Dr Abhinav Sacheti and Professor David Paton from Nottingham University Business School and Dr Ian Gregory-Smith from the University of Sheffield analysed Leg Before Wicket (LBW) decisions in exactly 1,000 Test matches that took place between 1986 and 2012 — nearly half of Test matches ever played in the history of cricket. Until 1994, both umpires in Test matches were from the same country as the home team. From 1994 to 2002, one of the two umpires was required to be from a neutral country and after 2002 both umpires were required to be neutral. Dr Sacheti, lead author of the study, said: "Our results suggest that when two home umpires officiated in Test matches, away teams were likely to suffer on average 16 per cent more LBW decisions than home teams. When the ICC introduced the one neutral umpire policy, this advantage to home teams receded to 10 per cent.