That was the forthright description Brian Lara gave to the turn of events that prompted him to snatch the ball from an umpire late on the fourth day of the first Digicel Test at the Antigua Recreation Ground on Monday.

While admitting he made a mistake, the West Indies captain said it should not have gone that far.

"It took so long – 15 minutes for 24 big men to come to a proper decision in a sport. I think it was ridiculous," Lara said after the match ended in a tense draw yesterday.

The situation unfolded after television replays could not conclude if Daren Ganga had stepped on the boundary at deep mid-wicket in trying to complete a catch offered by the big-hitting Indian Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Dhoni was ruled not out, but decided to accept the word of a fielder after the intervention of Lara. When the decision was made to initially allow Dhoni to continue, Lara responded by snatching the ball from umpire Asad Rauf.

"I just thought that the spirit of the game was being tested," Lara said.

"As human beings we all make mistakes, but . . . we all want to see the betterment of the game. At the end of the day, it's a sport that you are playing and you've got to trust your competitor."