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‘Review system will put less pressure on umpires’

Dubai: Praising Indian and Sri Lankan Cricket Board for agreeing to the trialling of the umpire decision review system, the ICC on Thursday said the initiative was aimed at removing frustration among players and ease pressure on umpires.

The system, to be tested in this year’s Sri Lanka-India three-match Test series starting on July 23, will allow the fielding and batting sides three unsuccessful appeals to the umpire per innings to change a decision if it is perceived to have been incorrect.

These appeals can be made only by the batsman in receipt of the umpire’s original decision or the captain of the fielding side by making a ‘T’ sign with both forearms at shoulder height.

The on-field umpire will consult with the third umpire, who will review available television coverage of the incident before relaying fact-based information back to his colleague.

Slow-motion replays, the wicket-to-wicket “mat”, sound from stump microphones and ball-tracking technology up to the point of impact on the pad will be available for use by the television umpire. Snick-detecting devices and ‘hot-spot’ technology will not be used in this trial.

Thorough review

Commenting on the review system, ICC acting Chief Executive Officer David Richardson said the decision was an attempt by the world governing body to enhance still further the game at international level.

“The ICC is extremely grateful to both Sri Lanka and India for agreeing to take part in this trial. Once the series is over we will conduct a thorough review of the process before deciding whether the trial was successful and worth persevering with,” Richardson said in a statement.

“... we want to see if we can enhance the game further by reducing or removing the few clearly incorrect ones.

The fact that each side is allowed only three unsuccessful requests to review in each innings should mean that players will not make frivolous challenges and, instead, only seek a referral to decisions that are highly likely to be incorrect.

“By seeking to reduce these potentially contentious decisions we believe we can help remove a source of tension and frustration among players and spectators as well as any resultant pressure on umpires,” said the former South African Test cricketer.

‘Good idea’

Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Duleep Mendis welcomed the initiative and said, “I think the trial’s a good idea — if the technology is there then why not use it?” — PTI

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