- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
What’s going on umps? You are given the tools then you totally stuff it up. It appears that India were right all along – the DRS is useless and we shouldn’t use it.
The first incident to test the DRS was in the opening match between England versus Australia at the MCG. England’s pint sized batsman James Taylor (not to be confused with the American singer-songwriter who wrote “I’ve seen Fire and I’ve seen Rain”) was single-handedly holding the Australian bowling attack at bay.
Struck on the pads by Hazlewood, Taylor was given out by umpire Aleem Dar. With the ball on a leg side trajectory, Taylor quite sensibly called for a DRS review.
TV umpire Billy Bowden reviewed the decision and over-ruled the on-field call as the technology had concluded that the ball was passing outside leg stump. That is, Taylor was given not out on review.
So far, so good. But now things went a bit haywire.
Straight after the appeal, the Aussie fielders noticed that James Anderson was dawdling down at the non-strikers end.
The ball was thrown at the stumps, hitting them, leaving Anderson short of this crease. Billy Bowden then reviewed this play. This is not actually a DRS review as close run outs are reviewed in any case but it was decided by technology that James Anderson had been run out.
Now anyone who has followed or played even backyard cricket can tell you that once a batsman has been given out, the ball is dead. D-E-A-D.
It is no longer in play. That’s why we don’t have double-plays like they do in baseball.
If you appeal and the umpire doesn’t give it out or the umpire is taking his time deciding (especially for an lbw shout) the ball is well and truly in play.
And this is where the umpires seemed to have got it wrong. They have taken the tack that the review by the batsman has suddenly made the dead ball ‘live’ – the old Lazarus effect.
Now remember these umpires are not like you and me, they are highly experienced international umpires. Not only that but Billy Bowden doesn’t even have the excuse of having to make a split-second decision like the on-field umpires.
He had enough time to google the ruling for goodness sakes. Paddy Effeney’s article How do the penguins prepare for a Cricket World Cup?” shone some light on Billy Bowden’s preparations. I didn’t see anything there about Billy actually reading up on the rules.
It’s all very well to say this decision had no effect on the game because England were well and truly beaten already. It did rob Taylor a chance of a century of course but more importantly, if it was a very tight contest, presumably the same decision would have been made.
Imagine if that was in a final between India and Pakistan?
Speaking of India and Pakistan, if you need to give a moniker to a contest, this one should be called the ‘Greatest show on earth’ as it could be the greatest rivalry in world sport.
I will explain the incident.
Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal pushed at a ball from Ravi Jadeja. MS Dhoni and the Indian fielders appealed but the umpire decided that he hadn’t hit it and gave a not out call. The Indian team called for the DRS review.
The television replays showed that it was a close-run thing. The ball was so close to the bat that you almost felt that he had made contact.
In the absence of Hot Spot, only Snicko could shed any more light on this. And Snicko was not convincing. There was no sharp spike on the graph but a barely perceptible movement.
It could be anything – a moth, the sound of the pads creaking, a crack of the batsman’s knee. There was absolutely no evidence that could overturn the on-field call and yet this is precisely what happened.
By any measure and past history of DRS, this decision should never have been overturned. Again, this decision probably had no effect on the game but it is not the point.
All this gives further ammunition for India’s arguments against the DRS. The action on the field and in the stands at this Cricket World Cup has been excellent – we just need our umpires to toe the line.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.