Umpiring revamp

Umpiring revamp

— The agreement of the Indian and Sri Lankan cricket boards to put on trial the ICC-proposed umpiring decision review system during the three Test India-Lanka series in July is yet another innovative measure that would go a long way in making cricket a fair game. The system which allows each team to refer to what it considers is an incorrect decision to the third umpire has been devised with the objective of minimising umpiring errors through reversal. “While each team will be given three unsuccessful review requests per innings, if an umpire reverses his original decision, the request is considered successful and does not count towards the innings limit”. Given that players have had many a raw deal in the past with glaring umpiring errors costing some their precious careers, the referral system will give them the right to question and reconsider an umpiring decision, which would at the end of the day, provide a level-playing field. Contemporary cricket is about cut-throat competition among teams and standards apparently have grown substantially. To be fair to umpires who are only human, decisions in a pressure game at times have to be made on sheer instinct rather than actual sight. On occasions, the mistakes come to the fore and it is here that they need assistance. As it is, greater usage of technology has helped umpires clear doubts that may arise on the spur of the moment and more often than not correct decisions have been made. Even as there have been many controversies with umpires in the firing line, players too do not help their opposition’s cause when they purposely adhere to dishonest means. The Andrew Symonds case in the controversy-filled Test series against India is a glaring example when the Aussie stood his ground even when television replays confirmed that he had nicked the ball to the wicketkeeper. It is in a situation like this that a decision referral system comes into the equation and any form of unfair ‘gamesmanship’ can be checked and parity restored. While a section of former players are sceptical of the system on the ground that it would erode and undermine the authority of the on-field umpires, others feel that it would account for close matches. It is a proven fact that while technology may not be entirely conclusive, it has brought about a new dimension and has done the game more good than harm. Even as it is imperative that the human element be respected and relied upon to a considerable extent, yet there are situations during the course of a match that demand a greater role of the third umpire, whether in regard to LBW cases or border-line catches. The referral system is bound cause the odd interruption in the game and put more pressure on umpires. But as long as it keeps needless controversies that affect the spirit of the game at bay and more importantly leaves no stone unturned in regard to arriving at a conclusive judgement, the ICC should give it a clean chit. Source: assamtribune 21.06.08