Home umpires favour their own teams in Test matches, study finds

Economists discover the introduction of neutral umpires in Test cricket led to a drop in Leg Before Wicket (LBW) decisions going in favour of home teams Findings published amid debate over whether neutral umpiring is still required following introduction of Decision Review System - The introduction of neutral umpires in Test cricket led to a drop in the number of Leg Before Wicket (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 Ian Gregory-Smith from the University of Sheffield and Dr Abhinav Sacheti and Professor David Paton from Nottingham University Business School analysed 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. The economists found clear evidence of fewer decisions in favour of home teams with neutral umpires. 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.