ICC Review System
South Africa and England
are playing this test series under the new ICC Review
System. I sas it in action for the first time yesterday
(19th Decemeber 2009). Did it work? I am not sure.
England had an LBW decision turned down and they
referred it. It looked like it was worth a challenge.
The reply showed the ball was hitting leg stump, but
the ICC have put a tolerance on the Hawk Eye reply. It
must be hitting more than half the stump (leg and off).
The reply showed it hitting the outside of leg stump,
but not just clipping, but hitting the outer half. This
meant it was not out and the review lost.
Here is my problem. The umpire was correct, their was
doubt. Doubt goes to the batsman and always should, so
not out, but the reply showed it hitting. England were
also right. So why do they lose their review? Why can’t
they keep the review, but the decision still be not
out? If it was missing, they lose the review.
I have a bigger issue in general with technology in
cricket and sport in general. I play a reasonable
standard in the Saracens Herts League and umpires are
provided by the league. The umpires are ok, but not
brilliant, but they give up their weekend and umpire
to the standard we are playing. We have to put up
with bad decisions and no doubt we get more than the
next league up and they get more than the county
standard. I am sure when players umpire the standard
is all over the place. Ever played in a game when a
batsman has been given out, he comes out to umpire
and everything is out, and the bowler who got
nothing and then gives nothing when he umpires?
International umpires should be the cream of the crop
and get the tough decisions right more often the not.
The ICC should be concentrating of getting those
standards higher. Sport at all levels should be played
by the same rules. We don’t get video assistance at our
standard and I doubt we ever will. If anything it is
our standard that needs it most.
In the current series there is no snickometre or hot
spot as the host TV company can’t afford it. So in the
series you will be not out, but in Australia you would
have been out. You can’t play with different rules in
different countries. Either everyone has the same or
you don’t use it. The ICC needs to pay for this and
have consistency.
Imagine a bigger, well funded club in our league being
able to have run out video. You can’t have one club
have it and not the rest. You are not out at 19
grounds, but out at theirs.
If the ICC do stick with technology then we are going
to have to rewrite the record books. All pre technology
records stand and we start again. I am sure somewhere
in Matthew Hayden’s world record innings or Brian
Lara’s Hawk Eye would have said they were out.
In my opinion technology should be used for no balls.
The 3rd umpire can look at this and the on field umpire
can concentrate on the other end. I would start with
that and see if that improves standards.
