Superb series undermined by umps

Once again I am afraid a superb spectacle of fascinating cricket has been tarnished by some fairly ordinary umpiring. The VB Series has been a beaut so far with each team being buffeted from side to side as they continue their roller coaster adventure.

Not so long ago the Aussies were scrambling flat out to even get on the points board and now they seem to have gained some momentum and an all important bonus point that could secure a finals berth. Those blasted competitive Kiwis have scratched, bitten and kicked their way to top spot and with the return of their best one-day batsman, Nathan Astle, are in no mood for generosity.

This brings me to the South Africans. How disappointing. Just when a revival had sparked and the tour looked like it was back on track, the wheels came off. Three losses in four days must have hit the boys like a sledgehammer and their ability to overcome the mental hurdle that accompanies such results will be the next real test.

They do not look like they are enjoying their cricket and that is a fundamental prerequisite when competing at that level.

Back to my original point.

The men in white have not done much to contribute to the sense of humour of the squad. It seems South Africa have had the worst of the calls from the men in charge and must now be quite accustomed to the reality that they need to get 12-13 players back in the shed each innings.

I have for years now advocated introducing technical assistance for the umpires and now firmly believe, and know that the I.C.C. are looking into the ever more frequent requests of such action being formalized. Technological assistance for the men in white will be in place at some stage in the future so why not ‘cut to the quick’ and do it now.

Prior to any further progress on this issue, four things need to be ‘nailed.’

The first and most important stage is the I.C.C. agree on a format for implementation.

The second is that the elite umpires panel need to unanimously approve of the concept. Thirdly all the countries’ skippers must agree and lastly the I.C.C. need to secure a global sponsor to provide financial input so that all televised international matches throughout the world can comply with standards.

The I.C.C have taken one big step in modernizing their thought process. The appointment of David Richardson will give certain projects impetus and his experience on all fronts will be a huge asset.

I think we are also fortunate that Dave’s vision on this debatable point is sound. He sees the way forward as being similar to a tennis umpire who basically can overrule the calls. This gives the ‘TV’ umpire some serious clout and increases his role dramatically.

I reckon it is a big step in the right direction and I encourage Dave to roll up the sleeves and start chipping away.

Then we will all get what we want – consistency.