A thorny issue: Use technology to help umpires

Cricket umpires are getting poor report cards in very recent times.

It's a problem that must be worrying and of the gravest concern to the game's governing body, - the International Cricket Council (ICC).

In fact, the ICC's chief executive David Richards said last week they were committed to overhauling the current system following recent incidents involving match officials.

The recruitment and training of independent umpires and match referees and the use of technology to help decision-making are the focus of proposals under review.

The standard of the umpiring in the current series between Sri Lanka and England has triggered such bad blood between the teams that the English cricket chief Lord McLaurin has gone to Sri Lanka to cool hot tempers.

The decisions in this series are by no means isolated cases. In every Test duel, complaints are mounting about the level of perceived incompetence among umpires.

This is not to say that there has not always been controversy in this area, but it seems to be on the rise. What could be some of the root causes?

From the time officiating began, there has always been division regarding decisions, depending, of course, on which side you're on and how a particular decision not only affected an individual, but the course of the game.

These are some of the conditions umpires face in their attempt to give balanced and fair judgements. It is as if they are in a no-win situation. However, they must try to stand their ground in the face of what seems to be gamesmanship exemplified by theatrics and exaggerated appeals.

On the other hand, we have seen too many bad decisions that we did not have to rely on replays to confirm the errors.

In the second Sri Lanka vs England Test, England captain Nasser Hussain appeared to be caught at silly-point not once, but twice, and given not out. Even the English acknowledged the gross error made by Sri Lankan umpire B.C. Cooray.

This was the home umpire here, so if you talk about them pulling their weight, then this would put a lie to that.

The point is that even if you have neutral umpires, it does not mean the officiating will improve; this merely serves to give transparency to the process and reduces suspicion of bias. Clearly, the increased use of technology is the only answer to avoid some of the controversies.

Whether the officials like it or not, technology has to be adopted as their best friend, the one they can trust in all seasons.

The ICC, in its duty to maintain a high level of civility on the field, must spare no effort in utilising technology to the fullest because judging from the tone of the exchanges in Sri Lanka, it will not be long before players come to blows on the field and, of course, it will be easy to blame it all on the umpire.