Cricket need not be spoiled by
these umpires’ bad decisions,
argues robert chesshyre |
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Simon Taufel of Australia - said to be the best umpire in the world - made two howlers in short order yesterday. First Taufel (right) gave Sachin Tendulkar, out leg before wicket (when clearly he wasn't), and then he sent Sourav Ganguly packing for a caught behind when the ball missed the bat.
His first decision deprived Tendulkar of possibly his last chance of a century against England - and the crowd and TV viewers of what would have been the highlight of an otherwise pedestrian day's play.
Ian Howell of South Africa - erring this time in India's favour - had already given two other Indian batsmen not-out when they were palpably trapped in front of their wickets by left-arm spinner Monty Panesar. Howell continued to the end, sending the last Indian batsman, Sreesanth, on his way with a flawed lbw decision instantly apparent on TV.
Of course, armchair cricket followers no
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| Endless replays, backed by a battery of technology, prove beyond doubt that the Trent Bridge Test has been marred by poor umpiring |
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longer have simply to trust their (or the commentators') eyes. Endless replays, backed by a battery of technology - Hawk-Eye, Hot Spot and the Snickometer - prove beyond doubt that the Trent Bridge Test has been marred by poor umpiring decisions. Each time it happens, the pundits intone: "But the umpires only have one chance to get it right, unlike us…"
The point is they don't have to have only one chance. Umpires are allowed access to technology - and the necessary time to reach the right decision - for run-outs, dubious catches and stumpings, so why not for other forms of dismissal?
The present system is akin to leaving speeding decisions to policemen using their naked eyes, a few yards away from an unused speed camera that could give an error-proof reading. A few years ago neutral umpires were introduced to eliminate bias: isn't it now time that technology was embraced to eliminate incompetence? 
FIRST POSTED JULY 30, 2007
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