(Appeared in Playing11.com)
One of the most painful and lingering images of the World Cup is ‘Big Mac’ Brian McMillan and Protea wicketkeeper Dave Richardson walking back dejected in the semis after being set an improbable 22 runs to win off one ball against England during the 1992 edition.
Well, that was all thanks to Messieurs Duckworth and Lewis. The pair, I guess, wanted to at one time be stand-up comedians, but failed to make it. So they decided to do the next best thing: become statisticians.
Mr Frank Duckworth and Mr Tony Lewis though aren’t entirely to blame for ruining the 1992 World Cup (for me at least). After all, it was the ICC’s decision to implement the system that led to one of the best teams being eliminated from the tournament.
It’s 2011 now and the ICC in all its wisdom has once again introduced a new technology for the World Cup: Decision Review System. Not all players support the video referral system, especially after it implementation actually led to some contentious decisions in the Australia-England ODIs.
The system has been in the testing phase for less than a year and a half and all the kinks are not out, but did that stop the ICC? No. Having been stonewalled by the Indian board on the issue time and again, the ICC has found the perfect opportunity to show-up the BCCI. But will this ego-trip hurt the game?
Frankly, it may not hurt the game as much as leave a sour taste in our mouths. Remember December 2010, when Australian captain Ricky Ponting was involved in an altercation with umpire Aleem Dar after an appeal for caught. Despite numerous replays and ‘Hotspot’ images failing to show an inside edge from Kevin Pietersen, Ponting remained convinced there had been a mistake.
He was fined (would have been banned if he were an Indian) and expressed his doubts about the accuracy of the system. "I do get a little bit annoyed with it because I think it's a blight on the game, trusting in technology that's not good enough to show them," a fuming Ponting had said.
The leading light of the game, Sachin Tendulkar, too is opposed to the technology being used in its current version.
Add to the mix, the most effective element of the system – Hot Spot – an infra-red imaging system that transmits a negative image to authenticate an umpiring decision for any snick or bat pad, will not be used.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat also doesn’t believe that the technology is foolproof. "We can only use what is available currently," he said.Isn’t it ironic? The head of the organisation implementing the technology himself harbours doubts about it. Let’s hope that in a game where a single decision can cost a match, this ICC decision doesn’t rain on the quadrennial celebration of cricket.
