'Check his bank statements': Third umpire Adrian Holdstock gets slammed by netizens after his shocking decisions in Barbados Tests

Australia is currently on a West Indies tour for a 3-match Test series, which started with the Barbados Test on June 25. The match is not in the news for its players but for the third umpire, Andrian Holdstock's controversial decisions. West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has also voiced his concerns over the third umpire during the 1st Test match in Barbados, after a series of contentious DRS decisions on Day 2.

Controversial DRS decisions by Adrian Holdstock

On Day 2 of the Barbados Test, a couple of review decisions from the third umpire left the Indies camp frustrated. The first one came when skipper Roston Chase was given LBW on Pat Cummins' delivery, which was clearly an inside edge. 

Given out by third umpire. https://t.co/XpylfGNgAm pic.twitter.com/aZHNfp0lXb

— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) June 26, 2025

The second decision, which raised eyebrows, was of Shai Hope, who was caught behind by wicketkeeper Alex Carey. The catch was called clean after a review by the third umpire. 

Absolute Horrendous umpiring by the third umpire Adrian Holdstock .. unlucky West Indies and Shai Hope .. that’s not a clean catch .. fullstop #AUSvsWI pic.twitter.com/2Fs4SDapgh

— Egan Steven Dantis (@Iamegandantis) June 26, 2025

Not only the home side but Australia also had their share of discontent with the third umpire. In the first over of Day 2, the Aussies reviewed an LBW call against Chase, convinced the ball had struck the pad first. Pacer Mitchell Starc also questioned whether the clip and audio in the replays were correctly synced. 

Netizens' reactions

Criticising the third umpire's decisions in the Barbados match, one social media user wrote, ''how much longer before West Indies walks off the field and refuses to continue to participate in this nonsense if Adrian Holdstock is not immediately removed as 3rd Umpire. @ICC and the Match Referee need to step in immediately, because he has brought the game into disrepute.''

This third umpire’s bank statements need checking

— ⛷️ (@stokaljona) June 26, 2025

''I think we are seeing the worst third umpire performance in cricket history. This is a shocker on so many levels,'' wrote another.

Meanwhile, after Day 2 Stumps, Australia are 92/4 with a lead of 82 runs. Travis Head and Beau Webster are out in the middle, playing at 13 and 19 runs respectively.