Should the UDRS be made obligatory by the ICC?

The concept of UDRS implemented by ICC allows players to challenge the decision of the on-field umpires. Initially, when UDRS was not in place, the TV umpire stayed with on-field decisions without the use of technology. Later came Hotspot, Snickometer and Hawk-eye. Just after the devasting tour of England, the question arose for BCCI and India about the use of UDRS. A contravention arose about Dravid’s dismissal, where he was wrongly judged out on 3 occasions.

In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, UDRS was used. It was an astonishing year for India as they were crowned the World Champions. The final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 was held in Mumbai between India and Srilanka. Sri Lanka batted brilliantly. When they reached 193-5, Munaf Patel‘s delivery went past the bat to Dhoni and they appealed as they thought that there was some contact between the ball and bat. Umpire shook his head, as Dhoni’s men asked for review. In World Cup, only Hawk-eye was in place. So TV Umpire Ian Gould just used the zoom-in technology and had his audio turned on. But when you look at the real-time replay, there was a noise. But zoom technology showed that the ball had not hit the bat on the way to Dhoni. In the tour of England 2011, Dravid was unlucky three times to be given out. Twice in tests and once in ODIs. Before going into controversial discussion, let us look into the UDRS technology i.e. hotspot, Snicometer, Hawk-eye.

HOT SPOT: Hot Spot is an infra-red imaging system used in cricket to determine whether the ball has hit the batsman, bat or pad. Hot Spot requires two infrared cameras on opposite sides of the ground above the field of play, that are continuously recording images. Any suspected snick or bat-pad event can be verified by examining the infrared image, which usually shows a bright spot where contact friction from the ball has elevated the local temperature. When referrals to an off-field third-umpire are permitted, the technology is used to enhance the on-field umpire’s decision-increasing accuracy. Where referrals are not permitted, the technology is used primarily as an analysis aid for television coverage. Its principal application in cricket is in deciding whether the ball has struck the batsman’s bat or pad — this determination being critical in determining if a batsman is dismissed or not, during appeals for LBWs or catches.

Dravid was wrongly given out in England.

During the 2nd innings of the 3rd test against England, where India chased 400, Dravid was unlucky to be given out. The delivery from Stuart Broad had passed Dravid’s bat to keeper with a noise, as England appealed, the umpire raised his finger. Actually, the noise was for the bat hitting Dravid’s shoe lace. The Hot Spot clearly showed that the bat was in contact with Dravid’s shoe lace. He did not review the decision as “a review should not go in vain”, said Dravid later on.

“The Wall” had an admirable tour of England. Out of the 4 tests, he had 3 test century in England. In the final test, India were asked to follow-on. In 2nd innings, when India reached 26-0, Dravid was given out by on-field umpire as he was caught at forward short-leg of Swann. Dravid asked for review. Here, Hotspot showed that there was no contact between bat and the ball. The ball had just hit the pad and gone to Cook. The decision was reversed by the third umpire. Later he was given out in similar fashion by TV Umpire. But that dismissal came into controversy. TV Umpire gave Dravid out by hearing some noise, actually he had inside-edge onto his pads and then to forward short-leg. “But Hot Spot did not pick anything” said by experts. But if you watched closely, there was a spot which was a very light, showing that ball had hit the bat on the way to the fielder.

Snickometer : It is the technology that will track the noise when the ball passes through the bat or if there be some contact between the ball and the bat. It is not considered full proof because it is used to track the sound of other possibilities such as the noise of bat hitting the ground or bat hitting etc. The TV/Third Umpire should not only use Snicometer but also consider other technologies to rule the batsman out.

In England tour, Dravid was given out considering only Snickometer. In the first ODI, Dravid was beaten of Stuart Broad’s delivery. On-field’s umpires’ decision was “not out” as England asked for a review. The TV Umpire, with Snickometer as proof , reversed the decision of on-field umpire.

Hawk-eye: It is popularly known as “ball tracking technology”. It is helpful in judging lbw decisions.

This is enough to conclude that Hawk-eye is not perfect for “lbw” decisions. Its not perfect in predicting the bounce of the wicket either.

So the implementation of the UDRS is right. But it can only be made obligatory along with Hot Spot. So, lets hope for better decisions in upcoming test matches.