17 July 2020 12:02 am
Former Kenyan Umpire Subhash Modi has his eyes in the second Test match between England and the West Indies which began at the Old Trafford Grounds in Manchester yesterday.
In fact, history was created in the second Test match with a rare incident where Stuart Broad represented England and his father Chris Broad was officiating as the Match Referee.
Modi has reason to take interest in this match because he also officiated as an umpire when his son (Hitesh Modi) was playing an International match.
“What a proud moment for the Broad family when Chris and Stuart are representing their country in the same game,” Modi told the Daily Mirror yesterday.
“It brings back my own memories when I was umpiring in a One Day International (ODI) between Kenya and Bangladesh in 1994 in Nairobi at the Nairobi Gymkhana Grounds. I ruled my son Hitesh out lbw very early in his innings.”
“Prior to this ODI, I had umpired two ODI matches between Kenya vs West Indies and Kenya vs Bangladesh. In this match also I gave my son out for a bat pad catch.”
The ICC Match Referee, Gundappa Viswanath had conveyed his personal congratulations to both the on field Umpires for very ‘good decisions.’ The other umpire was South Africa’s Dave Orchard.
“This is a unique cricketing record in the international arena where father and son have featured together in the same ODI.”
“It is a human nature that when father and son are featured in the same game, usually a doubt remains in the minds of everyone regarding fair play.”
“Thank God, I did not have any issues and I am sure Chris Broad will also have ‘fair play’, if the situation arises,” Modi signed off.