Ian Gould, the English umpire and former international English cricketer, has stated that the umpire’s call on lbw decisions should be dropped when DRS is available worldwide. DRS is a technology-based system used in cricket to assist the match officials with their decision-making. On-field umpires may choose to consult with the third umpire, and players may request the third umpire to review the on-field umpires’ decision. He said on BBC Radio 5 Live, that the umpire’s call, which relates to an lbw decision, should not be used if DRS is available worldwide. DRS was introduced into Test cricket in 2009 and is now used in all formats and if a player reviews an lbw decision and less than half the ball is hitting the stumps, then in that case, the on-field umpire’s call stands. “You have to have DRS worldwide, and if you do that, I’d take the umpire’s call out,” said Gould. He said it is not fair to have 37 cameras on every other decision but only 10 on the other. “My argument is you can’t go to one place and have 37 cameras on every decision you make, then you go somewhere else, and there’s only 10. It’s unfair. It doesn’t equal the game up” added the 62-year-old. In many bilateral series the DRS technology is not used mainly because not many boards can afford it. When Ireland took on the challenge of Pakistan, the DRS wasn’t used in the Test as Cricket Ireland could not afford the technology. Ian Gould has umpired in 74 Test matches, 140 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and 37 T20 Internationals (T20Is).
Brian Sturgess
brian@cricketinvestor.co.uk
