Joel Wilson had to face the wrath of social media after his goof-ups during umpiring led to many wrong decisions during England vs Australia first Test in Ashes 2019. The fifth day of the match was an interesting day to watch as England were chasing a mammoth 398-run target in the second innings. Wilson was trolled for his two decisions on Twitter, both of which came out to be wrong after use of DRS. First came in 13th over, when the Caribbean umpire adjudged Joe Root as LBW. However, his decision was overturned as the England skipper used DRS. Replays showed that James Pattinson's delivery was sliding towards the leg side. Again in the 17th over, Wilson ruled Root out lbw off the Peter Siddle’s bowl, but replays showed that Root had a big inside edge and DRS again saved the England batsman. Ashes 2019: Fan Edits Umpire Joel Wilson's Wikipedia Page, Terms Him 'Blind'.
As a result of these two umpiring howlers, Wilson became a victim of trolls on Twitter. The two on-field umpires, Wilson and Aleem Dar, reportedly made 15 errors in the first Ashes Test, out of which Wilson made 10. Memes and trolls became viral on Twitter attacking Wilson on his poor umpiring. Have a look at some of the tweets.
Joel Wilson!
Joel Wilson when he has to make a decision pic.twitter.com/Oz2SRGMSI3
— Adam (@Miggaaa) August 5, 2019
Ooops!
Joel Wilson #ashes pic.twitter.com/Hxrez8Wu7v
— Rob Cornthwaite (@robcornthwaite) August 5, 2019
Umpiring Howlers!
Joel Wilson when it's been a long week and he wants to go home pic.twitter.com/i0sOKf4nj4
— James (@_JamesPoole) August 5, 2019
Bad Umpiring!
Joel Wilson driving to Edgbaston this morning #Ashes pic.twitter.com/VaERv10LKw
— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) August 5, 2019
Many former cricketers and fans took to social media to express their anger and make memes about Wilson. "When Joel Wilson gives you out, You just review it," tweeted former England captain Michael Vaughan. "We can only conclude Joel Wilson gave that out because he was a bit bored. Not even close," said one of the fans. "Seems ironic that Specsavers are sponsoring The Ashes as Joel Wilson is a walking advert for them! 8 decision overturned on his watch now," tweeted another fan. Trolls
Earlier, Wilson's introduction on the Wikipedia was also altered. "Joel Sheldon Wilson (born 30 December 1966) is a blind international cricket umpire from Trinidad and Tobago. Wilson is currently a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, representing the West Indies. He stands in matches of all the three formats of international cricket - Tests, One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is)," Wilson's Wikipedia page described him. The term 'blind' was removed soon after but that was not the end of it for Wilson as after that his description started with a line that said: "Joel Sheldon Wilson (born 30 December 1966) is not an international cricket umpire from Trinidad and Tobago." The page has since been rectified. (With IANS Inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 06, 2019 12:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).