While the BCCI’s outright dismissal of cricket’s Decision Review System (DRS) is incredibly frustrating, you must appreciate that when watching a Test featuring India you know where you stand.
If the umpire gives it out, it’s out.
When he doesn’t raise his finger, the batsman stays at the crease.
It seems archaic and at times a hindrance to the development of a sport in desperate need of engaging new fans.
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Yet, as a spectator you are constantly aware of the parameters that the game is being played within.
The same cannot be said for those Test matches that don’t feature India, but do DRS.
Due to the cost of hotspot and snicko to broadcasters, their presence at Test matches depends on where the series takes place and how commercially viable they are.
Hotspot, in particular, costs a huge amount of money and requires a host of dedicated cameras to deliver the service.
This year’s Ashes series was subjected to all of cricket’s technological advance aimed at eradicating umpire errors and bringing a new dimension to television audiences around the world.
Compare that gadgetry to what is on offer during the Test series between Pakistan and England in the UAE and the fault lines are clear.
A now basic package of slow motion replays, zoomed in camera lenses and hawkeye are the only offerings available to the third umpire.
#Misbah-ul-Haq was surprised after being given out caught behind on review. Have a look. #PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/9RfVwohjA1
— Shahzad Tirmizi Syed (@shahzadtirmizi) October 13, 2015
In the grand scheme of things, all of those – bar hawkeye – bear little impact on shaping a decision or convincing a third umpire to overturn one.
And hawkeye hasn’t had its most perfect Test, a dubious decision going in England’s favour when Alastair Cook looked to be lbw with England 177-1 on day three and the captain on 101.
Cook, who went on to score 263 in England’s first innings, was struck on the inside of his front pad while sweeping Zulfiqar Babar and given not out on the field.
Pakistan reviewed and on impact Cook looked to be struggling, only for hawkeye to detect a remarkable amount of spin and presume the ball to be missing leg stump.
It has been the supporting cast not on display that has proved most baffling, however.
In hotspot and snicko, there are two pieces of technology that pretty clearly show impact and its nature when there are questionable decisions over whether a batsman has hit it.
Without it, you are left with a third umpire watching the same action as his on-field colleagues, just slowed down and slightly more magnified.
Cook survives a review from Zulfiqar after attempting the sweep: http://t.co/19rDS2lHgw #PKNvENG pic.twitter.com/VEKTjygWqq
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 15, 2015
On the final day in Abu Dhabi, the third umpire’s inability to categorically uphold or overturn a decision based on the tools at his disposal was in evidence once again in this match.
Adil Rashid convinced Cook that he had induced the edge of Mohammad Hafeez and claimed his first Test wicket and the decision headed upstairs.
On first glance, the ball did indeed look to deviate sharply as the frame reached the moment Hafeez’s bat passed the ball, the seam also looking to change direction.
Despite numerous looks at the same image, TV umpire Sundaram Ravi ruled there was not enough evidence for him to overrule Paul Reiffel’s decision.
Without snicko and hotspot, it was a fair assessment. The evidence against was not conclusive enough.
However, in Pakistan’s first innings, Ravi was more than happy to go against his colleague’s call, adjudging Misbah-ul-Haq to have edged behind.
There was little, if any, sign of bat being involved but Ravi came to the conclusion that the Pakistan captain should be on his way.
It may be my ageing eyes but that review for caught behind looks like it deflected off the bat??! #PAKvENG
— Paul Collingwood (@Colly622) October 17, 2015
With no clear evidence of any contact with Misbah’s edge, the decision was surprising in that it didn’t by any means show that the umpire had got it wrong in the middle.
Further confusion was cast shortly before tea as Misbah was given out on the field for what looked like an lbw appeal which the Pakistan batsman reviewed.
On review, the TV umpire looked to see if the batsman had hit it before looking at hawkeye which came to the decision that it was the umpire’s call, the ball adjudged to be clipping the bails by the smallest of margins.
The decision was then overturned and Misbah survived as it transpired the original decision was that Misbah had been caught.
Had Misah been given out lbw he would have felt hard done by, and the fact we were even shown hawkeye on the screen was baffling.
Why show a potential lbw decision if that is not the reason for the review?
Again, late in the day Pakistan reviewed Asad Shafiq’s dismissal after being given out caught behind but TV reruns offered nothing in terms of convincing Ravi to reverse the decision.
ICC plans to reassess DRS at the end of this year ahead of a reshuffle at the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy are long overdue.
What they must get clear is that the same rules and regulations apply wherever in the world the game is being played.
And while getting the BCCI on board is a major issue, they must ensure that the technology is supported by the game’s boards and that everyone is willing to play ball.
There have been trials and we have seen errors.
Now is the time the ICC fully supported, financed and rolled out a finished product that serves the game, its players and supporters.
And if they are to persevere with technology they must ensure that hotspot and snicko are firmly at the forefront, alongside a hawkeye system we can all trust.
