When I started watching cricket as a kid, I came to know that whenever an umpire was asked a question for lbw, caught behind or a run-out, his decision to raise a finger or not would be a considered as the final decision.
When the decision was made to introduce the third-umpire for the first time in 1992, it was considered as a good move because giving run-outs was a tough challenge for on-field umpires. The review would give them another chance to confirm the decision.
The umpires would frequently use the third umpire review in the case of run-out appeals even though it was a clear run-out. The umpires didn’t want to take any risks and would directly point to the third umpire to make the decision, because such a decision is a crucial one and can change the match situation dramatically.
FOLLOW LIVE CRICKET SCORES OF DAY THREE BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND INDIA
With the advent of the technology, umpires now also review if bowlers have bowled a no-ball after taking a wicket. The review system gives the batsman and the audience a clear view of whether the batsman is really out or not and they are assured by the decision after reviewing one.
The necessity to review arose because there have been many cases where poor decisions of on-field umpires turned out to be very costly for a batting side and umpires’ decisions were questioned by media and commentators.
Who can forget the infamous Sydney Test between India versus Australia in 2008 which was marred by a series of poor decisions made by Steve Bucknor?
I also clearly remember the India versus South Africa match in which AB de Villiers was clearly caught at slip, but was given not out by Aleem Dar. There are numerous such incidents, which raises the question whether umpires should review all the decisions or not.
An on-field umpire’s decision on caught behind and llbw cannot be unnoticed, because those decisions are considered based on what they see and hear and judged based on instincts and experience. A batsman’s reaction after lbw or a nick also plays a big part and I am sure umpires would also be considering this aspect while giving the decision.
The first Test match between India versus Australia in Adelaide also made news for the wrong reasons due to poor umpiring decisions. For example, Shikhar Dhawan was given out in the first innings when the ball clearly had hit his chest, but the umpire raised his finger. In the second innings, Ajinkya Rahane was given out even though the ball didn’t touch the bat or gloves.
In the second Test in Brisbane, Cheteshwar Pujara was given out caught behind when the ball didn’t nick the bat or glove, but had touched his visor, but alas umpire lifted the finger.
In such cases, why can’t the umpire review the decision by just watching a replay of the ball and then making the call? Is it so tough or hard to implement? If a run-out or a no-ball can be reviewed, why not a caught behind or a close catch appeal?
I am not going to the area whether DRS should be made compulsory or not because that’s an altogether different topic, but I fail to understand as to why ICC cannot implement rules to review the nicks or caught behinds if the on-field umpire thinks that it might be a 50-50 chance.
If the umpire is not 100 per cent sure whether the batsman has nicked the ball, then it’s better he review the appeal to confirm the decision. This way the umpire’s decision would not be controversial and matches would be in the news for the right reasons.
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