The Hindu : Sport : Technology is not fool-proof: Gavaskar

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Sunday, Sep 09, 2007
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Technology is not fool-proof: Gavaskar

Special Correspondent

London: Umpiring was under scrutiny during morning’s play in the seventh and final NatWest one-day international cricket match at the Lord’s here on Saturday.

Both the decisions involved Aleem Dar, considered one of the better umpires in the ICC Elite panel.

In the first instance, Dar ruled Rahul Dravid out, caught by the wicketkeeper off Andrew Flintoff. In the second, he upheld Flintoff’s vociferous appeal for another caught behind verdict, this time against the in-form Sachin Tendulkar.

These were two massive decisions involving India’s two foremost batsmen in a series where the standard of umpiring has been, to put it mildly, ordinary.

Both Dravid and Tendulkar were distinctly unhappy although the television replays suggested that the Indian captain might have got the thinnest of edges.

Unlucky

Tendulkar, though, was very unlucky to be walking back. Dar might have been misled by the sound of the bat hitting the pad.

The dismissals once again opened up the question — should technology be used for the caught behind rulings as well?

Sunil Gavaskar, among the greatest batsmen of all time, said technology was “not fool-proof.”

Gavaskar told The Hindu: “in run out decisions, technology is very useful and does give you the right picture. But this is not true in the case of the snickometre when it comes to assessing caught behind decisions or the Hawk Eye, on the leg-before decisions. I personally think, they don’t, as of yet, tell you the complete story. They give you a fair estimate, but need not be entirely correct.”

Limitations

The former India captain added technology had its limitations. “I will give you an example. You ask any batsman and he will tell you that the short-pitched delivery from a fast bowler is often the quickest delivery he has to cope with.

“However, the speed gun will show it as one of the slower balls. The reason being, the fuller you bowl, the faster it is according to the speed gun. Perhaps, that is how it has been programmed. I was an opening batsman and I can tell you, that was not the case,” Gavaskar said.

What then is Gavaskar’s verdict? “If the technology is not fool-proof, leave it to the umpires.”

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