A welcome development

As one who has enthusiastically backed the umpires' referral system, I fail to understand the reluctance of some teams not to adopt it. But, I am also happy to note that Australia will be making use of the system in the Test series against West Indies and New Zealand has opted for it for their Test matches against Pakistan.

Coming in the wake of the reluctance of India and South Africa to adopt it in their games against Sri Lanka and England, this is a welcome move and I am convinced that the results will send positive signals around the cricketing world. 

According to ICC chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, himself a keen votary of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) as it is being called, there has been a fair amount of feedback from the players and most of it was positive as they accepted the fundamental aspect of the system that decisions should ultimately be got right.

The UDRS was to have been used in the ongoing series between India and Sri Lanka, but will now be first seen in the series between Pakistan and New Zealand that starts next week followed by the contest between Australia and West Indies.

There are those who are against the increasing role of technology in cricket, especially as they feel it undermines the role of the umpires and turns them into robots. While there is some beef in this argument, overall the greater use of technology is bound to produce the right results and the sight of a disappointed batsman incorrectly given out returning to the pavilion shaking his head in disbelief and looking back over his shoulder over and over again will hopefully soon vanish from the cricket field.

Though designed to reduce controversy, the new system - which gives players the opportunity to request a review by the third umpire of a decision made by the on-field umpire they believed was wrong - has admittedly muddied the waters in several instances, notably in the series between India and Sri Lanka last year and again in the Jamaica Test between England and West Indies in February this year. But as Lorgat has maintained the protocols were clear, perhaps the application was not so good.

In the ultimate analysis, the new system for all its faults would reduce instances of bad decisions and that has to be good for the game. The system has already got the green signal from umpires. The game's two senior officials Rudi Koertzen and Daryl Harper have expressed the view that the system gives everyone a second chance to get appeals answered correctly when umpires may have erred.

The two respected umpires said that they would be happy if at the end of each day the decisions made are correct and players can enjoy a fair environment in which to compete against each other. They have received support from another Elite Panel umpire Aleem Dar who has said that the system will help minimize errors.  

Under the rules, each side is allowed two unsuccessful challenges per innings in a system similar to that used in American football and tennis. But with India and South Africa rejecting the UDRS there were fears that it would be difficult to implement it. The system however received a boost with New Zealand Cricket confirming that it will be used in the three-Test series against Pakistan. New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive Justin Vaughn called the decision "exciting" and an "important advance" in world cricket.

The ICC will certainly welcome the development. They had approved the UDRS for Test matches in June following trials at domestic and international levels making it mandatory for all Test cricket from October onwards. But the reluctance of India and South Africa had put them in a quandary. Now, however, even as the UDRS is finally being implemented there is also talk that the system should also be tried out in ODIs.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has officially demanded such a move after Umar Akmal was at the receiving end of a shocking decision in the Champions Trophy semi-final against New Zealand. All eyes will now be on the series between Pakistan and New Zealand. If the UDRS does get the thumbs up from the players, the ICC will have a stronger case to convince cynical boards to follow suit.

We have seen the referral system tried out at Wimbledon and it worked really well. There is no reason to believe that it will not work in cricket too. There is no chance of things getting out of hand since the number or referrals are limited. In the long run, I am sure it will be hailed as a welcome development.