A novel idea.....

I have always said that watching a first-rate test match is like reading an entrancing novel. You never really know what is going to happen as it all unfolds before your eyes with surprising twists and turns that captivate your imagination. As you turn the pages, chapter by chapter, hour by hour or day by day, developments heighten your sense of anticipation and build that natural crescendo we all crave. The best thing about both these forms of entertainment is that it just happens. You have no say on matters and it all progresses seamlessly.

Well, with cricket that used to be the case. I still have no say on matters when glued to the broadcast but a jarring, jolting alarm bell screeches in my head these days when I hear an appeal for a decision. Can you guess why? I just know what is going to happen next.

Since the Umpires Decision Review System has been introduced, (and thank goodness it has been because we have seen some howlers overturned) the players concerned, be it batsmen, bowler and keeper, or captain and the closest ally, feel it compulsory to engage in an impromptu lengthy committee meeting that agitates me enormously. We as viewers are subjected to dead airtime as they stand around and chat for 30 seconds or so while they decide on the merits of sending the verdict upstairs for closer inspection. During this void the umpire is badly compromised. It really is a poor advertisement for the sport and even poorer television.

Now seeing a massive chunk of the UDRS has been ‘stolen’ from American football, why don’t we go the whole hog and pilfer another idea. What happens during an NFL game is that if a coach (he has two ‘challenges’ he can call on during a game) decides he wants to get the zebra shirts (referees are affectionately called that due to the black and white tops they wear) to review a decision he throws a red flag onto the playing arena. But it is not all quite as simple as that.

The coaches sometimes have the benefit of being able to watch a potential reviewable play on the stadium replay screen before making a decision whether to throw the flag, or someone from the coaching staff in the booth upstairs will contact them and tell them to challenge the call. Every NFL team has an employed TV coach or ‘spotter’ who is anchored in an upstairs booth in front of a television monitor in the stand and watches intently as the network feed plays out the contentious moment to the millions of viewers via slow motion replays. It is only after a few scrutinised broadcast angles of play that the TV coach contacts the head coach by the side of the field and confirms whether or not he should challenge the referee’s call. The head coach then trusts the TV coach’s call from a superior vantage point and throws the red flag to instigate the challenge of the referee’s decision.

Would the game of cricket not be better served if each team employed a specialist ‘spotter’ of this nature who acted accordingly so that once again we can take the decision making out of the players’ hands?

Would this not make the game more pleasing to the eye and eradicate the current situation where it all comes to a grinding halt as on field players who have generally only gut feel to act on debate the legitimacy of review sans evidence?

Would this not ensure the game is more seamless?

It is a novel idea.