We are soon going to watch yet another experiment on umpiring decisions in the forthcoming Test series between India and Sri Lanka. If a batsman or the fielding side finds the decision of an on-field umpire unsatisfactory, they will have the right to refer it to the third umpire. The third umpire will then use slow motion replays, sound from stump microphone as well as Hawk Eye technology to verify whether the on-field umpire’s decision is correct or not. In the case of Hawk Eye, the third umpire will use it only for tracking the ball. Each side will be entitled to three referrals per innings.
Whenever attempts have been made to bring more technology into the decision-making process in cricket, there has been opposition from people who believe that this would kill the spirit of the game. They are of the view that the human element in umpiring, errors and all, is something sacrosanct which should not be tinkered with. Their apprehension is understandable, but they are, sadly speaking, caught in a time warp. Cricket is no longer the game they see in their mind. It has changed a lot, often beyond recognition. The huge flow of money, a fierce competitiveness among teams, and ever-increasing demands from spectators - all these factors have initiated a process of change in cricket that seems irreversible at present. Technology has crept into cricket for quite some time, and will certainly keep doing so in keeping with the demands of time.
With all respect to on-field umpires, we must admit that errors on their part can often turn a match on its head and cause immense damage to a cricketer’s career. A debutant wrongly given out may never get a chance again if there are more aspirants waiting in the wings. Some recent internationalmatches, the Sydney Test between India and Australia for example, have been determined more by umpiring howlers than cricketing skills. It will be ridiculous to claim that umpires never made mistakes in the past; they perhaps made even more errors during that time.
However, there was no hue and cry during those times as there were no television replays to expose the mistakes. But now TV replays show viewers again and again that their favorite player or team has been done in by an umpire; with so much at stake and team loyalty reaching fanatic levels, it would be foolhardy to expect that such umpiring errors will any longer be accepted in a ‘it’s all in the game’ spirit.
Can we stop television replays? Most probably not. If we could, there would be no need for technology. Errors would have gone unnoticed, and nobody would create a ruckus except perhaps for the victim who could break a window pane or two in the dressing room. But it is now a strange situation in which everyone understands that a mistake has been made but can do nothing about it. If intervention of technology can reduce errors, then what’s the harm in using it?
Umpires no doubt try their best, but even the best of them have their limitations as humans. They may not be able to judge properly if a batsman has got a faint edge to a delivery as everything happens within a split second. Technology can certainly help in such cases to arrive at the correct conclusion. There will, however, be some problems regarding lbw decisions, which should be best left to on-field umpires. The referrals will also slow down the game causing irritation among spectators.
But most importantly, the new system will reduce the authority of on-field umpires. They will lose their relevance and their job may be confined to counting the number of balls bowled by a bowler to call an over. But in today’s cut-throat competition, the emphasis is more on minimizing avoidable errors by using technology than preserving the age-old institution of on-field umpire.
With the passage of time, cricket has lost much of its old charm but gained in some other respects. We like it or not, the process of change will go on; the look and character of the game will be determined only by the diktats of time. We will no doubt miss certain elements of the game that have been dear to us for long, but can we stop the march of changing times?
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