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‘The umpire’s word is still final’

Special Correspondent

COLOMBO: The genesis of the umpire referral system was the Sydney Test between Australia and India earlier this year, said ICC general manager (cricket) Dave Richardson on Wednesday.

The Test Richardson alluded to was marred by substandard umpiring (and the controversy involving Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds), and led to India threatening to suspend its tour in protest.

Richardson, who is in Sri Lanka to supervise the system being tried out in the three-Test series, said: “The way we look at it is, what is better or worse for the game? The umpires making mistakes and being accused of cheating, Steve Bucknor being burnt in effigy, teams threatening to leave the country and fly home, boards criticising umpires on the one hand, and on the other hand a system where the umpire is given the opportunity to review his decision and make a final decision himself? Obviously, our thoughts are that would be preferable.”

Richardson said the system would neither undermine the role of the on-field umpires nor signify that their word was no longer final.

“The umpire’s word is still final, the way I look at it is it is an extension of the appeal,” said the former South African wicketkeeper.

“All that we are saying is that if you want him to review, he reviews it and then he has his final word.”

Failed system

The final decision, said Richardson, would be arrived at after a conversation between the on-field and the television umpires, unlike the failed system tried in English domestic cricket, where the television umpire over-ruled the on-field umpires.

Most umpires, he said, were comfortable with the use of technology.

“Mark Benson (one of the on-field umpires in the first Test here) certainly likes it. He wants to have a long umpiring career and doesn’t want effigies of him burnt anywhere.”

The ICC was open to other technology being used should the trial prove successful, said Richardson.

“What we have tried to do now is piggyback on the broadcasters,” he said. “At this stage, we are not paying anything additional for the technology that is available. We are simply using the technology that would have been used anyway.

“The broadcasters have been guilty in the past of showing up the umpires, all we are asking them to do is continue doing that but in this case, it will be helping us,” Richardson added.

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