It's the debate that just keeps being reignited by poor decisions and last night the BBL was once again in the spotlight after Hurricanes wicket-keeper Ben McDermott confirmed suspicions that Stars opener Andre Fletcher had been wrongfully dismissed, with no DRS to save him.
McDermott's admission came during commentary of the Stars' innings after Fletcher was given out caught behind in the very first over, with barely an appeal.
Fletcher was furious as he walked off following the dismissal, shaking his head and becoming animated the whole way back to the pavilion.
The replays appeared to confirm that his frustration was warranted, with Fox Cricket commentator Shane Warne immediately arguing that his bat had struck the ground, not the ball.
"He can't believe it. I think he's hit the ground here," Warne said.
"I don't think he's hit it."
The commentators then turned to McDermott behind the stumps for his take on the controversial call.
"I didn't think he nicked it, no, boys," McDermott admitted.
"I thought he hit the ground but it sort of did swing away after the bounce so I thought he might have … but I thought he hit the ground."
Last month there was the opposite issue with the umpire's call, with Thunder batsman Usman Khawaja clearly nicking a delivery from Scorchers paceman AJ Tye in the sixth over of a run chase, only for umpire Simon Lightbody to decide that Khawaja's bat had hit the ground.
"I thought the bat hit the ground, mate," umpire Lightbody told a stunned Tye.
Tye replied, gesturing: "The bat hit the ground? It was that far off the ground!"
Khawaja's bat was off the ground by some margin, yet he was given not out. The absence of DRS ensured the incorrect call couldn't be overturned.
Australian cricket great Mark Waugh, commentating for Fox Cricket, was baffled by the decision.
"It was nowhere near the ground. He's just had a shocker there, unfortunately for the Perth Scorchers," Waugh said.
"That's just a huge nick. That's a big nick."
Another howler last week saw Warne blow up on social media arguing that the poor umpiring decisions could "ruin players lives".
"I'm sorry but who is in charge of the umpires in Australia? Every game we see horrible mistakes (and) it's embarrassing for the BBL completion," Shane Warne tweeted.
"The Big Bash is a wonderful tournament but it's fast becoming a joke and could ruin players careers. Please can we have DRS immediately!"
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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/bbl-t20-umpiring-howler-melbourne-stars-vs-hobart-hurricanes/7d2696f1-0176-4f18-9bb1-51c3668670e5
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