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International cricket’s imperfect decision review system might undergo further change before its final model is settled on, the ICC’s chief executive Haroon Lorgat says.
Since its trial introduction in 2008 and subsequent addition as an optional extra for all Test series, the system has been hotly debated, particularly the element of competing teams deciding which decision should be sent to the third umpire for video evidence.
At present each team is limited to two incorrect referrals per innings, and players are learning to choose their referrals more wisely to concentrate on obvious umpiring errors rather than marginal calls.
However, Lorgat said he was sure there would be more changes to the system – which remains anathema to cricket’s most powerful country India – before all the dust settles on its introduction.
“From the start we’ve always had a very open mind about the referral system and we are always open to changes that can make the system better,” Lorgat told AAP.
“There may still be changes to the system, I can’t say what those changes might be, but we are open-minded.
“More and more people are being won over to the system after having seen it or used it.
“There are still a few people who are not supportive of it.”
Numerous senior figures, including England coach Andy Flower, have advocated a return to the system tried during the 2005 ICC “Super Series” between Australia and a World XI, where the responsibility for referrals was placed solely in the hands of the umpires.
Lorgat said the system was gaining the confidence of players as more learned how to use it – Alastair Cook’s referral to correct a wrongful dismissal during the Adelaide Test providing a neat example of its ideal use.
“It is not there to get a wicket when you are struggling to find one, it is there to fix the obvious errors – Alastair Cook’s referral on the fourth day when he was given out caught behind off his arm was a classic example,” he said.
“That’s exactly what it is for, and I’m quite confident we are near to the ideal. We will never have it 100 per cent right.”
Indian scepticism – especially from Sachin Tendulkar – remains a significant roadblock to the system’s universal employment, and Lorgat could only encourage the subcontinent to show a little more willingness to try it.
“It is just an issue of them experiencing its use more often,” he said.
“Similarly there was a fair amount of scepticism among a lot of countries two years ago, but the more they have used it the more they have liked it.”
A planned visit by Indian board officials to Australia to view the system during the Ashes was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.
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