Bowden no to more technology
2004-09-28 15:02
Wellington - Five-day Tests would be a thing of the past if cricket made greater use of technology to rule on dismissals, New Zealand umpire Brett (Billy) Bowden said on Tuesday.
Bowden said increased use of video replays and third umpires to judge lbws (leg before wicket decisions) and catches behind would destroy one of cricket's central principals - that batsmen should always have the benefit of the doubt.
"For lbws for example, what good is technology?" Bowden said, citing a sophisticated video replay system called Hawkeye.
"Are we going to use the Hawkeye? ... If we do there won't be any more four- or five-day test matches, they'd be one- or two-day Test matches," he said.
Bowden was responding to a proposal to allow teams to refer three decisions in every innings to a video umpire for consideration after an umpire has already ruled.
The proposal will be discussed by the International Cricket Council's cricket committee at its next scheduled meeting.
"When I heard about it yesterday my head was spinning," Bowden told New Zealand Radio Sport.
"At the end of the day, cricket players and captains cannot question an umpire's decision. I think cricket is the only sport that you cannot.
Bowden said technology had already encroached on areas which were once the umpire's sole preserve. Replays were now commonly used to rule on runouts and stumpings and to determine whether a ball had crossed the boundary.
Get about 92% right
"I just think how far are we going to go?" Bowden said.
"At the moment the statistics are saying that we (elite umpires) get about 92% (of decisions) correct. I can say that players make mistakes, umpires make mistakes. Let's just get on and move on," he said.
Bowden said he approved umpiring innovations trialed at the recent ICC Champions Trophy limited-overs series in England. They included using the third umpire to rule on no balls and equipping umpires with ear pieces which amplified the sound of the ball touching the bat.
- SAPA