HARARE - Sports minister David Coltart expressed dismay at the “poor umpiring” by Englishman Richard Kettleborough, which led to the dismissal of Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor during the 82-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20 opener on Tuesday.

So outraged was Coltart, a staunch cricket fan, that he implied Zimbabwe was treated unfairly because it was a small country.

Zimbabwe were generally poor in the field with dropped catches, mis-fields and extras being the order of the day.

All-rounder Malcolm Waller dropped two simple catches to sum up a woeful all-round performance by the African side.  

Sri Lanka posted a healthy total of 182 runs for the loss of four wickets, having recovered from 82-3 inside 11.3 overs.

Zimbabwe’s batting started on a promising note until the sixth over when Ajantha Mendis removed two batsmen in successive deliveries.

Opener Vusi Sibanda was bowled on the third ball of the sixth over before Taylor was stumped next ball, but it was the skipper’s decision which attracted the ire of Coltart.

Taylor appeared marginally out of his crease when Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara removed the bails. Television replay showed that the batsman should have been given the benefit of doubt. However on referral, third umpire Richard Kettleborough gave Taylor out.

“Very poor third umpiring, how could Taylor be given out in the way he was, another case of small country being expendable,” Coltart tweeted.

Man-of-the-match Mendis claimed a career best 6-8.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe coach Alan Butcher admitted his team needed desperately needed a quick turnaround after the opening defeat.

 "Obviously, it's our last chance to progress in the tournament and to do so we will have to put in a vastly improved performance than against Sri Lanka, which after all the hard work was a big disappointment," said Butcher.

 "We have to pick ourselves and be positive against what we know is a very good side. We need to put in a performance we can all be proud of.”