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Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting on Boxing Day, it has been aggravating to see the continued negativity shown by India’s administrators toward the umpiring Decision Review System.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that India has sought to have the DRS taken out of the series, as they have done in series since its inception, despite the fact that the side’s last visit in 2007-08 contained contentious umpiring issues that could have been greatly tempered in magnitude by video, audio and infra-red replays available from Channel Nine’s cameras.
“This means wrong decisions will stand, and could raise tensions on the field,” wrote Jon Pierik in The Age.
“It was poor umpiring that sparked trouble on India’s visit four years ago and almost led to the tour being abandoned.”
I’d be the first to admit that the DRS is flawed. Of course it is – humans are involved. Humans, even the ones programming the various replay devices and inputting the picture and sound feeds, etc, are imperfect. We are never likely to get a 100 percent accuracy rating with either the human or electronic eyes and ears involved.
However, I’d also be the first to say that I’d rather have the decision-challenge option available than not. Like commentators Ian Chappell and Tony Grieg in particular have previously stated, the aim of the umpires should be to interpret the laws of the sport correctly, for the sake of first the players, then the paying public, and then their own reputations as officials.
And the use of technological aids shouldn’t be feared by the umpires themselves, players or cricket boards. It exists primarily to offer the most comprehensive set of evidence to produce as many correct decisions as possible.
According to Pierik, the Indians remain unconvinced of the accuracy of DRS technology. Nine’s cricket producer Brad McNamara admitted that there was “definitely” a variance in DRS aid technology around the world, but that Australia “put a lot of time, effort and money into making it as accurate as possible” here.
“We are fairly certain we are using the best technology available,” said McNamara.
“It is a bit confusing. The thing I worry about probably more than anything is the viewers. It’s hard to explain to them why DRS is in one series but not in the next in the one summer in Australia.”
However, as long as the ICC allows respective boards to decide whether they’ll agree to decision reviews, the tit-for-tat on technology will continue, probably to the detriment of a spectacle that needs to be based on credible information.
There’s also the thorny issue of whether two challenges per team per innings is the right amount. It’s better than nothing, and if a team continues to guess correctly, they stay in the game with both intact. Sounds reasonably fair to me.
This won’t be the first time India has said no. It declined the use of DRS earlier this year in England, then changed its mind and allowed it – but not in relation to leg-before decisions. You surely can’t have it both ways. Either you think the technology provided by the home nation broadcaster is good enough or it isn’t. And if it is good enough, it should be good enough to cover all possible decisions.
In reality, though, this could come back to bite the Indians on the proverbial gluteus maximus. Do Mahendra Dhoni and his men want to walk off the field at the end of every day’s play this season, as confident as they can be that the correct decisions have been made, regardless of what position the match may be in?
Or do they want to imply that Nine’s cameras – let alone the flesh-and-blood umpires themselves or Australian captain Michael Clarke – cannot be trusted to make the right calls in the interests of the game? Do they want decisions reviewed systematically, or a totally different DRS to come into play – the Doubt-Riddled Series?
“If India get a couple of rough ones through the summer, they might all of a sudden become a fan of the DRS.”
Those were McNamara’s words, not mine.
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