Referral System claims its first victim

[Matt79]

http://www.cricinfo.com/ausvwi09/content/current/story/438322.html

was against it before they brought it in, and on what we've seen so far, it's definitely a step for the worse for cricket. One less umpire on the elite panel and again the ICC utterly shaft their own on field proxies.

 

[andyc]

Link's playing up, fyi.

 

[Matt79]

Should be fixed now.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Bit precious for mine. Yeah it was probably a mistake, but to take your ball and go home after this suggests he's probably not in the right job to start with.

 

[Flem274*]

Its been a massive success over here.

 

[zaremba]

Agree with SirBloodyIdiot on this.

The referral system will take a bit of getting used to but will be a massive improvement IMO. I haven't seen the Benson incidents but from what I understand a decision of his was reversed because some of the replays showed he was wrong. Now to my mind if an umpire makes a mistake, our primary sense of responsibility shouldn't be to protect his poor delicate ego, it should be to rectify the mistake so that a correct decision is made. We go to the cricket to watch the players playing, not the umpires umpiring.

As it happens, I believe that, on balance, the system strongly strengthens the authority of the on-field umpire, because it is likely to uphold their decisions more often than not, and because it makes the players (fielding team especially) "put up or shut up".

 

[Matt79]

Agree with SirBloodyIdiot on this.

The referral system will take a bit of getting used to but will be a massive improvement IMO. I haven't seen the Benson incidents but from what I understand a decision of his was reversed because some of the replays showed he was wrong. Now to my mind if an umpire makes a mistake, our primary sense of responsibility shouldn't be to protect his poor delicate ego, it should be to rectify the mistake so that a correct decision is made. We go to the cricket to watch the players playing, not the umpires umpiring.

As it happens, I believe that, on balance, the system strongly strengthens the authority of the on-field umpire, because it is likely to uphold their decisions more often than not, and because it makes the players (fielding team especially) "put up or shut up".

Nup. A decision of his was upheld, after which he got sledges by Bollonger and Ponting, and then another decision was over ruled but the considered opinion of everyone EXCEPT Asad Rauf was that his original decisin had been correct, or at least that there wasn't grounds to overrule it.

 

[silentstriker]

Sorry Mark, but it's best you leave if you can't deal with it. It's his decision, and it's fine. 'Sledged' by Ponting and Bollinger? Please. I wonder what they could possibly have said - called him a long line of expletives or something? Doubtful. Most likely it was a glare and a random word. If you can't take that, don't let the door hit you on the way out. If it was anything more, he could have easily reported them and ICC would have backed him.

Definitely a step up, and maybe Rauf should follow him if he can't read the actual rules on when to overturn a decision. Rauf being an idiot does not mean the system sucks, it just means Rauf does.

This system would have definitely helped out in the IND-SL series, and from all accounts, it's been working well in the NZ-PAK series.

 

[zaremba]

Nup. A decision of his was upheld, after which he got sledges by Bollonger and Ponting, and then another decision was over ruled but the considered opinion of everyone EXCEPT Asad Rauf was that his original decisin had been correct, or at least that there wasn't grounds to overrule it.

Thanks for the info Matt.

It seems to me that it's a question of getting umpires to get the right decision on the video referral, which really shouldn't be too difficult. Because if everyone except Asad Rauf could see that Benson got it right, the fault seems to me to lie with Asad Rauf rather than anywhere else.

As for the sledging, there has been a definite drop-off of dissent and on-field pressurising of umpires in series where the system was trialled - this was the general consensus among officials. If Bollinger and Ponting were prepared to sledge Benson even after his decision was referred and upheld, imagine how they'd have sledged if his decision couldn't be referred at all.

 

[Top_Cat]

HTFU, umpires. Never had it so bloody easy in terms of back-chat.

 

[Simon]

Aww diddums, if he can't handle that happening then it's probably best he isn't umpiring at this level.

 

[Shri]

Soft.

 

[Richard]

Definitely a step up, and maybe Rauf should follow him if he can't read the actual rules on when to overturn a decision. Rauf being an idiot does not mean the system sucks, it just means Rauf does.

Funny how that's applied so many times. Makes me think it's just a stupid set of rules that are incredibly difficult to read properly (perhaps because there is no way to make an obvious "proper"), and that a simpler set of rules that would create more accurate decisions with less controversy would be preferable.

In fact I've thought that since before this referral nonsense was even instigated.

Hopefully some melodramatic reactions like this might get the thing chucked out of the 11th floor window like another of ICC's idiotic ideas, the Supersub, was - eventually.

 

[Matt79]

Should add i'm not necessairily endorsing Benson's action, but umpires feeling undermined or humiliated is a fairly predictable issue, and performance suffering as their confidence is affected is equally predictable. There's already issues in attracting and retaining umpires.

All this for a system where howlers can still occur.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Having seen the incident I think Benson has legitimate grounds for greivance, any edge was faint enough to ellude Hot Spot, so (as is accepted practice) the benefit of any doubt goes to the batsman. Rauf's reversal flies in the face of technology and convention.

That said, I don't agree with the manner in which he appears to have chosen to make his concerns public. If the facts are as the report intonates, it strikes one as an ego-driven flounce, which are almost invariably bad ideas.

 

[Sir Alex]

Soft.

I agree with you.

 

[honestbharani]

Sorry Mark, but it's best you leave if you can't deal with it. It's his decision, and it's fine. 'Sledged' by Ponting and Bollinger? Please. I wonder what they could possibly have said - called him a long line of expletives or something? Doubtful. Most likely it was a glare and a random word. If you can't take that, don't let the door hit you on the way out. If it was anything more, he could have easily reported them and ICC would have backed him.

Definitely a step up, and maybe Rauf should follow him if he can't read the actual rules on when to overturn a decision. Rauf being an idiot does not mean the system sucks, it just means Rauf does.

This system would have definitely helped out in the IND-SL series, and from all accounts, it's been working well in the NZ-PAK series.

interesting but I would love to see a number of posters here who were telling umpires decision is final and it should be respected.. I mean, once the referral is done and you got a decision (for or against doesn't matter) you should end the matter, right?


Didn't Ponting preach on accepting the umpire's word quite a number of times? And where is the spirit of cricket when you blow up at the umpire? Apparently, only a crime when Indians do it?

 

[Uppercut]

Grow a set Benson.

 

[Matt79]

interesting but I would love to see a number of posters here who were telling umpires decision is final and it should be respected.. I mean, once the referral is done and you got a decision (for or against doesn't matter) you should end the matter, right?


Didn't Ponting preach on accepting the umpire's word quite a number of times? And where is the spirit of cricket when you blow up at the umpire? Apparently, only a crime when Indians do it?

nah. SS encourages equal opportunity boorish behaviour from all teams. Unless it involves tests in Sydney between Oz and India.

 

[silentstriker]

nah. SS encourages equal opportunity boorish behaviour from all teams. Unless it involves tests in Sydney between Oz and India.

Really? That's my position. News to me.