Joel Garner believes the Umpire’s Decision Review System (UDRS) is “a gimmick that everyone’s been experimenting with” and should be taken out of cricket.
The system was “not working as it was expected to,” Garner, veteran of 58 Tests between 1977 and 1985 and currently director of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), charged yesterday in a telephone interview from Perth where he is manager of the West Indies team on tour of Australia. “I can understand the use of tv technology in terms of run outs, stumpings and that sort of thing, like whether the ball is pitched between wicket and wicket or outside leg-stump, yes, if the umpire has doubts,” he said. “But not for every little thing you can think about to question the judgement of the umpire.”
According to Garner, the system removes the human element from the game.
“You still want the umpires to use their own judgement,” he said. “If you’re going to use it, it should only be used specifically for one or two things but not that you question every little thing that happens with the umpires.” The system has created confusion and controversy since it was first introduced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) just over a year ago.
Although he gave ill health as the reason, speculation was rife that one reason umpire Mark Benson quit after the first day of recent second Test between Australia and the West Indies in Adelaide was because his not out lbw decision for West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul was overturned by third umpire Asif Rauf on flimsy television replay evidence.
West Indies captain Chris Gayle has been consistent in his opposition to the system, a position he reiterated during the Adelaide Test.
But the ICC and those umpires on its elite panel, Benson included, have supported it.
Prior to the review system, the umpires could refer only line decisions on run outs, stumpings, hit-wicket, bump balls and boundaries to the tv replays on their own.
The UDRS now allows a player of either team to ask for a review of a decision on any dismissal. The original number of three unsuccessful reviews an innings for each team was reduced earlier this year to two.
