Pakistan, Sri Lanka plead for DRS

**IBA** · 06-26-2012, 05:37 AM

Rivals Pakistan and Sri Lanka united on Tuesday to demand mandatory video technology after several umpiring howlers in their first Test, placing themselves in opposition to India's powerful board.

The Decision Review System (DRS), which uses ball tracking and thermal imaging to verify umpires' decisions, was recommended for mandatory use by cricket chiefs Monday, subject to member nations financing the technology.

But Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said he wanted the International Cricket Council (ICC) to pay for the technology if individual boards, such as his own, cannot afford to fund it when they host touring teams.

"The ICC must take it upon themselves to fund the system for the boards which cannot afford to, instead of leaving it to them to decide whether they use it or not," said Jayawardene.

"I have always been a fan of the DRS. It might not be 100 percent technology, but if we can use it to get the maximum number of correct decisions, it will help the umpires as well," he said.

The Galle Test, which Sri Lanka won by 209 runs on Monday, was marred by at least 12 contentious decisions by umpires Steve Davis of Australia and Ian Gould of England, with Pakistan suffering the most.

DRS is not being used in the three-Test series, reportedly due to cost factors.

The ICC's executive board will consider a recommendation by its chief executives' committee to make DRS mandatory at meetings in Kuala Lumpur over the next two days.

The ICC had previously made DRS mandatory for all series, but changed its stance last year following objections from the influential board in India, which accounts for the lion's share of global cricket revenues.

Mohammad Hafeez, captaining Pakistan in Galle in the absence of Misbah ul-Haq, said the uncertainty about the video referral technology should end.

"One thing I want to say is that it is time for the highest authorities to make a decision about the DRS," said Hafeez. "It should be made compulsory for every game.

"I feel as a player, not having the DRS puts a lot of pressure on you and that pressure goes to the umpires. If this technology can improve the game, then why not?

"The authorities should either go for it, or not at all."

Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore had on Sunday slammed the selective implementation of the DRS, which Sri Lanka Cricket used in the previous home series against England but not in the ongoing one.

"It does not seem right to me that you have it for one series and not for another," said Whatmore, a former Sri Lankan World Cup winning coach.

India has been suspicious of DRS since making a number of unsuccessful referrals during the 2008 Test series with Sri Lanka, when the technology was on trial.

India's cricket board said in a statement on Monday that its stance on the system remained "unchanged", arguing that it was "not foolproof".

India cannot veto a decision by the full ICC board to make DRS compulsory. But it does enjoy outsized influence thanks to the money it has generated in the world game, in part owing to the Indian Premier League's runaway success.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/s...w/14407497.cms

**mugatiya** · 06-26-2012, 05:59 AM

Where is Tharaka ?

**no1slcricketfan** · 06-26-2012, 07:45 AM

ICC is a joke they will never go against BCCI the way things work nowadays. And we all know BCCI's retarded view on DRS.
Seriously can any one explain the logic behind this thinking.
There are 2 systems, A and B
System A like all man-made systems will never be 100% perfect
Not only is system B not 100% perfect but it's much worse than A
Yet having system B in place is better than A because A is not 100% perfect
WTF??

**rsk19** · 06-26-2012, 01:34 PM

Universal DRS falls at board table

Sharda Ugra

June 26, 2012

The universal application of the Decision Review System (DRS), which was recommended by the ICC's cricket committee and by its Chief Executives Committee, has met an expected and swift end at the ICC's Executive Board meeting in Kuala Lumpur. It is believed the issue was discussed at the meeting but was not put to a vote. The development came a day after India publicly and unambiguously repeated its opposition to DRS, when most other countries are believed to support it.

Those present at the meeting, which was chaired by ICC president Sharad Pawar, say the DRS question came and went without a murmur, with the BCCI being the sole objector to its universal acceptance. The issue was not put to an open vote despite support for the DRS from most Full Member nations as well as the majority of the playing community. The development effectively retained the DRS in its current form - a mutually agreed arrangement in bilateral series.

The motion for the universal application of the DRS was put to the Executive Board by the CEC on Monday, also through a "unanimous" non-vote, with the BCCI's opposing stance being noted and the matter not being put to vote. The CEC said it was satisfied with the improvements in technology in the fourth year of the DRS, which included new Hot Spot cameras and independent ball-tracking research.

It is understood that an appeal by a majority of the Full Member nations to the ICC for the sale of centralised rights to the DRS to a single sponsor was also not likely to gain traction due to the BCCI's opposition to the technology itself.

With the matter not being put to vote by the Executive Board, the DRS returned to the position it has held since October, when the Board overturned the decision it took at the 2011 ICC annual conference in Hong Kong. The cost of the system will still be borne primarily by the host broadcasters and technology providers, rather than the ICC, even though the DRS forms part of the umpiring operations.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci-icc/c...ry/570131.html

Absolutely ridiculous! The issue was not even discussed. What a toothless entity the ICC is. The President & CEO should just hand over the reigns to the BCCI. We can do away with it altogether.