Wednesday, July 23, 2008

It's About Time!

A big day of cricket is about to begin. As India take on Sri Lanka in the first test, the eyes of the cricket world will be on the trial of the new referral system (Tendulkar's potential record-breaking innings notwithstanding).

I, for one, am very much in favour of the system. Cricket has been at the forefront of technology - from replays for runouts, to Duckworth-Lewis. So why not take the next logical step, especially when it's fairly easy to do so?

Per the system, there will be three referrals per team per innings = 24 potential referrals per match. Now that could mean a lot of time dedicated to referrals, but we'll have to wait to see whether teams actually take advantage of the system.

Many sports have headed the direction of replays. Tennis, NFL, etc. Baseball is planning to get replays as well. Football/soccer definitely should have it to, at least for goals that were declared offside.

Here are some interesting comments regarding the cricket referral system, some favorable, others more skeptical.

I do wonder who will be the first referred dismissal (or non-dismissal). Could it be Sachin Tendulkar, the man who was the first player to be given run-out by a TV umpire?

Like any new system, there will be success and failure, and the system will adapt over time. So let's accept any failures as a learning process, and cherish the successes as a much needed step in the right direction.

To referrals...cheers!

Make your pitch on this post...



Labels: , , , , ,


15 Pitched:

  1. straight point said...
     

    i am game for it...

    it will atleast take some obvious, pathetic dismissals out of equation...

    sachin wont be given out lbw shouldering arms...while ducking bouncer...!!

    sangakara wont be given out caught of shoulders...of what could have been innings of century...

    like some howlers given by billy & co. in ongoing sa-eng series...

    that's enough incentive to start it...isn't it Q...

  2. Jrod said...
     

    WE can't see the series on pay tv here, apparently two brown teams don't rate well.

    Not like the millions of people who wanted to see the kiwis take on the poms.

  3. Anonymous said...
     

    The review system will not work properly unless it also enforces some sort of accountability for the umpires.It might result in umpires giving more than three poor decisions per innings.

  4. SledgeHammer said...
     

    @wasim: True. I think the best course of action would have been to reprimand umpires for bad decisions, especially blatantly obvious ones. But ICC will never go down that path.

    But I think referral system will automatically lead them to improve their standards. You don't want to be overturned too often...it could get embarrassing!

    One issue I see with the referral system is the interference from the pavilion. So how long does a player have to challenge? Can he do it a la Pietersen last year against India? It should be done before the first replay comes on TV, which is normally around 10-15 seconds after the initial decision. I think that's ample time for a player to decide to refer.

  5. Anonymous said...
     

    Although its a step in the right direction it might help in eradicating honest mistakes by umpires but if an umpire has made up his mind to be biased for some reason then unless there is a penalty system or review system in place for umpires the system will not function properly and biased umpires will give more than three bad decisions per innings.
    The problem can also be solved by not limiting the referrals to three per innings, I think the limitation is absurd.
    I do agree with you that there should be a time limit for players to challenge the decision.

  6. Som said...
     

    While it would reduce the human error, it's also bound to slow down the match.

  7. Q said...
     

    More than enough SP!

    Thats strange Jrod.. somethings up with the TV rights these days... in Dubai we didn't get the Asia Cup and had to resort to online viewing.. Even the SA vs Eng series is being shown on a channel not avaiable on most networks..

  8. Q said...
     

    Som, i don't think it will be any slower than hat we get through TV replays for run outs and stumpings..

  9. Anonymous said...
     

    I am in favour.
    It only failed in county cricket because teams did not refer decisions that would have been overturned.
    The interference from pavilion is an interesting point - the new rules state that only the batsman involved and the fielding captain can make challenges. Any remonstrations from the pavilion should make a resulting challenge void, so no more 12th man coming on the field to tell the batsman to stay put, as Nel did for Amla last week.
    It is certainly an area that might cause a problem.

  10. SledgeHammer said...
     

    @wasim: the limitation of three is only for unsuccessful referrals. If you make a successful referral, then your quota is not affected.

    I think that's quite fair.

  11. SledgeHammer said...
     

    Warnapura becomes a footnote in history.

    From Cricinfo commentary...

    45.4 Harbhajan Singh to Warnapura, no run, Now then now then after 45 overs we got a referral upstairs for a lbw shout that was turned down. It was on the leg and middle, straightened a touch, beat the prod and hit the pad. Appeal but turned down. Kumble asks for the review It looked like it was going down leg. Benson says NOT OUT. Kumble and Ganguly have a smile. It didn't turn enough. India have only two more unsuccessful reviews to make.

  12. SledgeHammer said...
     

    And here it is...the reason why referrals are so important:

    105.3 Khan to Dilshan, no run, another review given out caught behind and Dilshan wants a review. It was full and well outside off stump, Dilshan went for the drive, the bat hit the ground and did the ball hit the bat at the same time? And it has been given NOt OUT History made here. Dilshan becomes the first man to have a decision over turned.

    Life is good!

  13. Q said...
     

    Phillip - welcome to well pitched.

    I think it makes sense that only those players involved on the field can challenge the decisions. It makes it a bit too much that those in the dressing room after watching replays start waving frantically at the batsmen.

  14. Q said...
     

    I agree with Sledge. Its quite fair. Its similar to tennis, where u r allowed a few referrals.

  15. Q said...
     

    Lovely work Sledge. u sure caught the right moments.

    I was just watching the news and everyones been praising the system.

Post a Comment