"The third umpires should be changed as often as nappies, and for the same reason"
About this Quote
The specific intent is pressure-by-mockery. In cricket, the third umpire is meant to be the cool-headed technocrat: slow-motion, multiple angles, justice delivered by pixels. Sidhu flips that promise into a farce. If the third umpire’s job is to correct on-field mistakes, then repeated controversy (bad calls, inconsistent standards, tech glitches) becomes not a rare flaw but an ongoing mess. The “as often” exaggeration is doing heavy lifting: he’s saying the system is so soiled it needs constant replacement, not minor repair.
Subtextually, this is about credibility. Fans will tolerate errors; they won’t tolerate the feeling that the game’s refereeing infrastructure is unreliable or unaccountable. Sidhu’s choice of metaphor also signals his entertainer’s instinct: turn institutional frustration into a meme-able image. It’s populism, but in a joking register - a way of rallying spectators against opaque decision-making without sounding like a committee report.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Sidhu, Navjot Singh. (2026, February 18). The third umpires should be changed as often as nappies, and for the same reason. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-third-umpires-should-be-changed-as-often-as-97658/
Chicago Style
Sidhu, Navjot Singh. "The third umpires should be changed as often as nappies, and for the same reason." FixQuotes. February 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-third-umpires-should-be-changed-as-often-as-97658/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The third umpires should be changed as often as nappies, and for the same reason." FixQuotes, 18 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-third-umpires-should-be-changed-as-often-as-97658/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.

