So - what next??

[Nige_Bix]

I remember, after the West Indies series, joking that having the lines on the pitch might help the umps but to think they are actually going to try it!

Lines down the pitch!? -It's just not cricket!!
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Wisden CricInfo staff - June 21, 2003


Close on the heels of discussions over a third on-field umpire, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to have white stump-to-stump lines painted on the pitch to help umpires adjudicate lbws. The new facility will be in place in all international games from October.

Reporting the decision, The Guardian said that the move was discussed during the ICC meetings at Lord's over the past week. The white lines, similar to the virtual mats TV viewers see during match telecast, was preferred over the third umpire using television technology to decide lbws. "We haven't decided whether to use an unbroken or dotted white line," said Dave Richardson, the ICC's cricket manager. "But this is an experiment worth introducing."

The Guardian report pointed out that such a system would be a disadvantage to bowlers. It would help batsmen gauge where the ball had pitched, doing away with the key batting skill of assessing line, particularly around the off stump.

The ICC may also introduce an earphone, wired to the stump microphone, for umpires to hear nicks more clearly. So what next? A hand-held TV monitor for the on-field umpires to see replays, hopefully?


© Wisden CricInfo Ltd

 

[GoEagles]

I don't like it - seems the umpires are going the way of using all this technology to save their skin and to mask a poor performance. Every umpire will make a mistake - the good umpires tend to make fewer.

 

[DaveW]

Hmmm... how credible is this? This report sites information from an English newspaper - and we all know how reliable they are. CricInfo does host the ICC website so where's the ICC media release?

I hope its wrong when it says "all international games". I don't mind these micky mouse gimics for one-day internationals but the ICC shouldn't be introducing such flippant changes into Test cricket.

 

[The Scarecrow]

How about we do this, forget about having human umpires and have the big screen be the umpire. He can call 'No Balls' 'Wides' and 'Catches" it would save alot of time. Then again, that probably would screw cricket up.

 

[dr nick]

it takes sometimes 3 seconds to make a decision on lbw. i can eventually see a technology such as hawkeye adjudicating whether the ball pitched in line. a quick beep to the umpires earpiece would indicate that it pitched in line. all the umpire would have to decide is if the ball would hit the stumps (amongst other things of course)