UDRS faces its own review in an attempt to convince India of its worth

Posted about 55 days ago | 0 comment

Dubai, Umpire Decision Review System is to undergo a review in May with the International Cricket Council hoping that a Cambridge University study will help persuade India that its use can be beneficial rather than detrimental to the game.

At the moment India are refusing to use it because of doubts concerning the predictive element of tracking system Hawkeye and its derivatives, and of heat-monitoring Hot Spot. Against that, current three match Test series between England and Pakistan has already produced a record number of lbw decisions fast approaching the most for a series of any length, many of these a product of use of UDRS.

ICC general manager of cricket, Dave Richardson, former South African wicketkeeper, whose baby UDRS is (developed, with some irony it can be seen now, from an idea presented by current India coach Duncan Fletcher) said he has been surprised by the impact that UDRS has had on Test cricket, admitting that he had never expected to see such a change in the way game was being played. In particular, he feels that it has overturned a convention of the game, not enshrined in laws, that batsman rather than bowler is entitled to the benefit of doubt.

“I think it’s not a bad thing,” Richardson said. “We were keen to make sure there was a better balance between bat and ball. I think there was a feeling it had gone too much the other way and batsmen were getting too much of an easy ride in Test cricket. Wickets were too flat and the balance had shifted too far in favour of the batsmen.”

Although some top umpires are thought to have doubts, Richardson believes majority of umpires have found it beneficial. “I think general view is supportive,” he added. “I think they acknowledge it can be to their benefit. Any mistake can be rectified while still giving them margin for error. They don’t need to change the way they umpire and the system will support them more often than not.”