The news of Sachin Tendulkar’s three wrongful dismissals in the present India – Sri Lanka series has once again brought into sharp focus the long debated point about umpiring errors, how to minimize them and whether they should all be just put down to being part of the game. In this editorial Cricket360.com seeks to do a special review of this issue.
It is true that umpiring is an extremely crucial job which needs to be done accurately since so much hinges on it. If for instance there was a newbie who was out at the scores of 5, 6 and 7 the way Sachin was due to three wrongful umpiring decisions, it could well be the reason for the new player being given his marching orders! The results of entire games can hinge on one bad or inaccurate umpiring decision.
Having said that however, are the umpires not human? Can they not be permitted some leeway, some margin of error? How can they be expected to perform flawlessly at all time; no one can! Yet there is a clamor in the media news for holding umpires accountable; for making them face the same kind of disciplinary action for bad decisions in the manner that players themselves are penalized. This does seem a tad excessive.
We have to remember that cricket coverage being what it is today and having the benefit of slow motion replays from every possible angle, every decision of an umpire is scrutinized, reexamined and analysed to the nth degree. The facility of the Hawkeye makes this scrutiny even more minute and thorough. The umpires on the pitch do not have the benefit of this technology; one cannot always be perfectly accurate without these aids.
If some bias or personal agenda on part of the umpire can be established which in turn led to maliciously incorrect decisions, certainly the umpire may be penalized, but to say that they must be penalized for making mistakes sounds rather harsh.
Yes the screening and selection process should be made more stringent, so that umpiring standards are up to the level required for international cricket. In the alternative do we want to have the third umpire make all the decisions? Won’t that take away a lot of the charm of the game? Won’t that make cricket that little bit more soulless? Cricket360 wonders!
It is true that umpiring is an extremely crucial job which needs to be done accurately since so much hinges on it. If for instance there was a newbie who was out at the scores of 5, 6 and 7 the way Sachin was due to three wrongful umpiring decisions, it could well be the reason for the new player being given his marching orders! The results of entire games can hinge on one bad or inaccurate umpiring decision.
Having said that however, are the umpires not human? Can they not be permitted some leeway, some margin of error? How can they be expected to perform flawlessly at all time; no one can! Yet there is a clamor in the media news for holding umpires accountable; for making them face the same kind of disciplinary action for bad decisions in the manner that players themselves are penalized. This does seem a tad excessive.
We have to remember that cricket coverage being what it is today and having the benefit of slow motion replays from every possible angle, every decision of an umpire is scrutinized, reexamined and analysed to the nth degree. The facility of the Hawkeye makes this scrutiny even more minute and thorough. The umpires on the pitch do not have the benefit of this technology; one cannot always be perfectly accurate without these aids.
If some bias or personal agenda on part of the umpire can be established which in turn led to maliciously incorrect decisions, certainly the umpire may be penalized, but to say that they must be penalized for making mistakes sounds rather harsh.
Yes the screening and selection process should be made more stringent, so that umpiring standards are up to the level required for international cricket. In the alternative do we want to have the third umpire make all the decisions? Won’t that take away a lot of the charm of the game? Won’t that make cricket that little bit more soulless? Cricket360 wonders!
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