To review or not to review

By CAM

Never has a topic in cricket been debated as much as this one. While in most fields of sport played around the world, the use of technology has revolutionized the way the game is played, cricket has traditionally been slow to follow suit. It is clear that the vast majority of the players, officials, and followers of the game are in favor of the Universal Decision Review System (UDRS). This was apparent following the opinion poll run on this website several weeks ago with a 5 to 1 ratio of votes in favor of the UDRS.

Minimizing the effect of human error, a common argument in this case, is one that is hard to contest. These days, umpires have a huge amount of pressure on them to judge correctly. Introduction of new rules certainly does not help. One new rule for example prohibits the non-striker (batsman) from leaving the crease for a possible run until the rear foot of the bowler has left the crease.

While a ball is being bowled, the umpire has to keep his eyes focused on the feet of the non-striker for a possible violation of this new rule along with being able to observe the feet of the bowler for a possible over-stepping violation before he can lift his head to look straight to follow the movement of the ball and the bat. A lot to ask considering the time elapsed while all of this occurs is less than a second. This, the umpire has to do for every ball, 90 overs per day in a typical test match. The possibility of human error certainly exists here and cannot be ignored!!

I have heard people say, “Why not use a Cyclops?” as used in tennis to call a service fault. A simple beep to call a no-ball can result in one less thing for the umpire to worry about. Seems like an idea with some credence. In some instances, the 3^rd umpire review comes back with the opposite of what seemingly should have been the obvious call. Remember, TV viewers are privileged to watch multi-angled replays as well. In this case, I have heard someone say, “Why not have 3 TV umpires?” therefore allowing for the final decision to be the majority decision. Again, makes sense, but can it be done? Is it really practical? Something to also keep in mind is how much time can be used up in the review process. A minute used for review is a minute lost from the game. One has to draw the line somewhere!!

All set and done, hopefully the UDRS will minimize controversies in umpire decisions and not create new ones as we witnessed recently in South Africa. It is obvious a new system such as this will take its time to finally be accepted by all. Some will continue to argue its benefits. At the end of the day, the use of technology is natural in the process of evolution of anything in life. Why should cricket be any different?