Cricket: Howzat! Leg-before appeal goes to the TV eye

By RICHARD BOOCK

Conversations between match and video umpires may be broadcast live to television viewers after yesterday's move to embrace more technology.

In a bold International Cricket Council initiative, match umpires will be allowed to consult with television umpires before adjudicating on leg-before decisions - starting with the Champions Trophy tournament in September.

Although the exchanges are not expected to include queries relating to whether the ball would have hit the stumps, they will centre on more tangible matters, such as where the ball pitched and whether it took the edge first.

The latest step along the technological path was the most daring of the usually-conservative cricket establishment and was designed to clear up the area which caused the most problems for umpires, according to ICC sources.

But arguably the bigger leap was to allow match officials the freedom to discuss the details of an appeal with their video colleague before making a decision in the middle.

At present for referred appeals, match officials effectively delegate the decision-making to a television official, who examines the evidence and signals the outcome with the green or red light.

The only TV-assisted decision conveyed by match umpires involves the question of whether the ball reached the boundary.

New Zealand Cricket umpiring manager Brian Aldridge said yesterday that the decision-making process for leg-before decisions had not yet been spelt out by the ICC, although he expected the final decision to be made by the standing umpire.

"My understanding is that while television umpires use the lights for all dismissal decisions at the moment, this new move will allow the standing umpire to collect information from the video-replay and then make his own decision.

"From a personal point of view, I wouldn't mind the television broadcaster tapping into those conversations to better inform the viewer. It would possibly put more pressure on the umpires, but at the top level they should be able to cope."

A long-time advocate of technological help, Aldridge said umpires would have to be trained to ask careful questions of the video-jockey to obtain all relevant information.

New Zealand coach Denis Aberhart said he was in favour of the move, as long as uniform technology was available all over the world, and that the game was not disrupted too much by umpiring inquiries.

Aberhart, whose side would almost certainly have beaten Australia at Perth last summer but for a couple of umpiring blunders, said it was also important that standing umpires were not sidelined by technology, and that they remained confident of making decisions.

"Having been involved for a wee while now, I think the most important thing is getting the decision correct - and if we need technology to help the umpires then so be it," he said.

"On the other hand, it's important the game isn't held up by constant referrals upstairs, and that umpires retain faith in their own ability."

ICC cricket manager Dave Richardson said leg-before decisions provoked the most errors among umpires and needed to be addressed.

"Lbw will be one of the areas where umpires can consult, but only in certain areas such as whether the ball pitched outside leg stump or took the inside edge," the former South Africa wicketkeeper said.

"It's one of those areas where umpires are making mistakes time and time again."