24 July 2008

About doubt.

Going by the evidence of today's play, the on-field umpire is still best placed to take decisions on certain aspects of the game - such as the existence of a fatal nick and judgment of bounce. Under the current referral system, the third umpire is expected to take into account all aspects of the referred decision.
The problem is that most referred 'out' calls have enough element of doubt on camera - technology still unable to conclusively distinguigh a ball-on-bat and bat-on-ground sounds, or predict the trajectory of a delivery or determine the legality of a close catch. It is almost certain that an 'out' call will be overturned by the third-umpire and a batsman can ride his luck on doubtful catches and faint edges. Wait for a crucial wicket before further action on this debate.

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