Melbourne/London: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has drawn flak from former cricketers Darren Lehmann of Australia and England allrounder Derek Pringle for considering umpires’ nationality over their “excellence” in big games like World Cup final.

The duo believes the ICC must move beyond parochialism and mistrust that forced the introduction of “neutral” umpires, who were responsible for the farcical finish to last week’s World Cup final.

Lehmann, the Australian Cricketers’ Association president, said the gaffe could have been avoided if Simon Taufel, the ICC’s umpire of the year for the past three seasons, had officiated the final between Australia and Sri Lanka.

Taufel was not considered for the final because he is an Australian and the ICC uses neutral umpires in ODIs.

“I have a view that the best umpires should umpire the best games regardless of what country they’re from because they’ll do the best job,” Lehmann said.

“If there are two Sri Lankans who are the best umpires, then so be it; they umpire the final between Australia and Sri Lanka,” he was quoted as saying by a daily.

“The finish was a farce, (with officials) not knowing the laws. Having five officials involved, it’s not good enough. Thankfully it didn’t affect the game at all. If it affected the result, it would be a big issue,” he added.

Pringle said the final mess raises questions over ICC’s policy of choosing umpires from its Elite panel and Taufel’s absence from the final was “nonsense”.

“Neutrality should not be an issue when you are pursuing excellence,” Pringle wrote in his column.

“Umpires need an instinct for the job, which is why the best are often former professional cricketers,” Pringle said.

“The biggest source is the English county system but the ICC’s insistence on neutrality, and therefore a life on the road, means few want to join their panel.

“If this sorry World Cup has shown anything, it is that cricket needs the best umpires, irrespective of their backgrounds,” he added.

Lehmann, who played in Australia’s 1999 and 2003 World Cup-winning teams, also said Test umpires should be allowed to officiate in their own country, which would encourage a number of the best in the County system to make themselves available for international cricket once again.

“We’re getting to the stage now where I think we should be honest enough and umpires should be good enough to umpire home Test series so they’re home a bit more,” Lehmann said.

“...Umpires never get to umpire at home (in Tests). The best umpires simply have to umpire the best games and not worry what country they’re from,” he added.

Umpires from non-competing countries stand in all Tests while one home umpire and one “neutral” umpire stand in limited-overs Internationals outside ICC events such as the World Cup and the Champions Trophy. (PTI)