Ponting wants UDRS to be used universally
It came as a surprise, but the implementation of the Umpire Decision Review System, a high-tech system designed to allow umpires to double-check their calls is dividing the cricket world. First it was Kumar Sangakkara who expressed his frustration at not having the assistance of the UDRS for the series between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, and now it is the turn of the Australian skipper, Ricky Ponting to do the same.
Ponting has said that the ICC needs to ensure that the UDRS will be used for each and every Test series that was being played. Ponting also lamented the fact that the UDRS was not in operation for the series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 played in England. The issue, apparently, is to do with the fact that Pakistan is the home team in this series which is being played in England and that has meant that they have had to look into the logistical issues around the same.
Ponting said that the system was good enough to be used everywhere in the cricketing world, and he acknowledged that his side had grown quite used to it. Ponting also said that the first Test match at Lord’s saw one of the best umpiring by the on-field umpires, and yet, he would have liked to see technology being used for hairline decisions.
Ponting added that he had made a similar point to the match referee, and felt that the ICC needed to intervene in such matters. The main problem in using the UDRS is that the system is very costly, and there isn’t enough number of cameras that can be put up in concurrent series. For example, with the current infrastructure, only one of the two ongoing Test series would have been able to use the UDRS had it been allowed by the teams involved.
In terms of the cost, there is no clear consensus on who needs to bear the expenses. There are three entities involved in this, the cricket boards, the broadcaster and the ICC. The ICC has washed the matter off their hands and said that it was the responsibility of the host board to push the broadcaster to use the system. However, in case of the cricket boards like the Indian board, the television rights for the broadcasting have been sold for a huge price – to Neo Cricket – and that means that adding the extra cost of the new equipment will add on to the overall costs.
It is surprising then, for a really rich cricket board like the BCCI, to not invest in a system which, in turn, will go onto assist the game in making it more error-free than before.
Ponting was at his scathing best when he said that he thought that once the system was rolled out after a long period of trial, there shouldn’t have been any going back. He also acknowledged that it was going to be an issue in a neutral series like the current Australia-Pakistan series played in England, but said that the ICC should have done something about it.
The chief executive of the ICC, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Haroon-Lorgat-c61719, however, said that the system works in a particular manner, where the host nation needs to apply the system in consultation with the visitors. In case of the India-Sri Lanka Test series, the hosts, Sri Lanka, wanted to go ahead with the UDRS but the BCCI rejected the same.
It was a wonder, because in this case, it was the home board – Sri Lanka – that would have had to shell out the extra cost. According to some, the BCCI is not happy with the system and has said that the UDRS is not foolproof.
Tags: