NEW DELHI – An aggrieved Indian cricket board (BCCI) yesterday sent a letter to the game’s governing body slamming the “inadequacy” of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) being used in the World Cup.
The world’s richest national cricket body also attacked International Cricket Council (ICC) general manager Dave Richardson’s criticism of India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who had questioned the use of the technology during his team’s tied match against England on Sunday.
For the first time at a World Cup, each team has the right to question at least two decisions which go against it during an innings. A “third umpire” uses the technology to determine if the on-field officials were correct.
“The inadequacy of the UDRS has been exposed in the CWC 2011. The group stage match between India and England was a case in point which clearly brought out the inadequacy of the system,” BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan wrote in his letter to ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, later sent to the media.
“ICC, in consultation with Hawkeye, formed playing conditions which specifies when the umpire can rely on Hawkeye and when he cannot.
“This itself is an admission on the question of reliability of the system including ball tracking technology.”
The debate stemmed from England batsman Ian Bell’s apparent let-off on Sunday against India.
Dhoni and his teammates sought a review after umpire Billy Bowden had turned down an lbw appeal against Bell, a decision that was confirmed as third umpire Rodney Tucker referred it back to Bowden.
Bell survived because he had stretched well forward and the rule says if a batsman stretches more than 2.5 metres, he would be ruled not out regardless of the ball’s trajectory. The ball was clearly hitting the stumps.
Even the batsman admitted later that he thought he was out and was on his way back to the pavilion after seeing footage from Hawkeye on a big screen shown to the crowd. He had scored 17 at the time and went on to make 69. (Reuters)