Melbourne, Dec 20 : Australian media has blamed umpire Aleem Dar for being inconsistent in his decisions when he gave struggling opener Mathew Hayden out in the second innings.

Former captain Richie Benaud described it as an astonishing decision, and said that the world cricket was in shock at the umpiring howler of modern times.

Thousands of Australians stood in front of their televisions as Pakistani umpire Dar lifted his finger in the air when Hayden prodded forward to Dale Steyn and the ball popped back to the bowler, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The ball had clearly hit into Hayden's pad, going nowhere near his broad blade, and everyone were left in disbelief.

"That was one of the more astonishing decisions I have ever seen," Benaud said in commentary.

The umpiring blunder left Hayden's Test career in danger. The furious Perth crowd vented their anger at Dar as resounding boos rang across the WACA while Hayden went off in disgust.

Dar has a history of mistakes and was one of the umpires who stood during the farcical scenes of Australia's World Cup final in the West Indies last year.

He was suspended after misinterpreting the bad-light rules, with the match ending in a comedy of errors, and surely he must face the sack again after this latest botch-up, the Australian press said.

Hayden was victim of terrible umpiring decisions after another Pakistani umpire, Asad Rauf, gave him a caught-behind decision in the first Test against India in Bangalore.

There are no immediate indications that Dar will retire but if his poor run continues this summer, he may have the decision taken out of his hands by selectors. (ANI)