UMPIRING ROW
   Date :05-Aug-2019
 
ONCE again the issue of wrong umpiring decisions has raised its head with former Australian Captain Ricky Ponting questioning the efficacy of having neutral umpires. The controversial dismissal of David Warner in the first Test of the ongoing Ashes series between traditional rivals Australia and England has prompted Ricky Ponting to demand appointment of the best umpires rather than having neutral umpires, who, according to him may not always be competent. Ponting is so serious about the issue that he is determined to take up the matter in the next of meeting of the MCC of which he is a member. Reviews of Warner’s dismissal showed that the ball was missing the stumps but the umpire gave him out. What is more, without asking for a review, Warner too began his walk back to the pavilion.
 
While the umpire may be wrong in giving a decision, Warner also erred in walking out without waiting for a review. While his sportsmanship may be appreciated, it appears that it may not be a good policy all the time. The practice of neutral on-field umpires in cricket was introduced several years ago when the game of cricket was entirely at the mercy of the field umpires.
 
There have been innumerable instances of wrong decisions being given by field umpires when domestic umpires used to be appointed to oversee bilateral series. The touring teams thought themselves at the mercy of the umpires from the host countries and felt being done in by biased decisions.
 
Umpires were often accused of being partisan, favouring domestic teams. It was the time when there was no Decision Review System (DRS). While there were quite many instances of such accusations being true, there were also honourable exceptions among umpires who would be seen to be absolutely impartial and non-partisan. But as complaints continued to mount, the International Cricket Council (ICC) took the matter seriously because wrong umpiring decisions had resulted in adverse impact on the outcomes of games and even series on several occasions.
 
That was a very poor commentary on the game which had fanatic following in countries where the game was played. Bad umpiring was an unwelcome advertisement for the game. It was then that the ICC decided to have a panel of neutral international umpires. While this system has worked reasonably well since then, the spectre of wrong umpiring decisions has not been totally eliminated. It is for this reason that technology has been introduced to reduce the element of error. Now Ricky Ponting wants neutral umpiring to be given a goodbye and the best in business be appointed, because like Indian cricketers, Australians too are not convinced about the effectiveness of DRS.