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To arrest deteriorating umpiring standards....
ICC should act swiftly
By Marlon Fernandopulle
The ICC's elite panel of umpires which was first appointed in April 2002 are now beginning to get the rough end of the stick as umpiring errors are more and more frequent and have become the norm rather than the exception in test matches today.

Whenever a post-mortem is carried out on a series, whether it's by the team management or by a writer in a newspaper the bad decisions given by the umpires figures prominently.There is hardly a series that ends without these bad decisions.Sri Lanka has experienced these situations often with the latest during the recently concluded seies with England.Australian Daryl Harper was the chief offender on that occasion.

Hashan's report ignored!
Although Harper had received adverse reports from Sri Lankan captains in the past the ICC continued to appoint him for successive tests in involving Sri Lanka.Infact in skipper Hashan Tilakaratne's captains report to the ICC after the 3 rd test against New Zealand in Asgiriya(a copy of which is in the possession of The Sunday Times) the Lankan skipper has specifically written that he is very concerned with the LBW and caught behind decisions given by Harper.

He also adds that he is beginning to doubt the suitability of Harper umpiring in future games.On the other hand Simon Taufel who stood with Harper for the 3 rd test received a highly favorable report.Despite Harper receiving such adverse reports the ICC continued to appoint Harper for Sri Lankan games.One wonders why the ICC gets captains to report on umpires if suitable action is not taken.Is it because the report is by a Sri Lankan?

After former England captain Nasser Hussain gave a glowing tribute to umpire Asoka de Silva in his captains report to the ICC after the 3 rd test between England and Sri Lanka which was won by England in 2001 the Lankan umpire went on to be selected to the ICC Elite Panel.

Bucknor-chief offender
Steve Bucknor has been included for Sri Lankas test series against Australia next month. Bucknor the most experienced ICC umpire today was the chief offender (after David Shepherd) during the recently concluded Australia-India series.In fact a critical analysis of the wrong decisions given during that series reveals that Steve Bucknor made the most number of blunders.So it looks very likely that Bucknor will continue Harpers work during the Australia-Sri Lanka series.

With the advancement of television technology Umpires are certain to be under pressure and make more mistakes.And on sub continent wickets where there is profuse turn ,the task for the umpires become even more difficult.So the question that is asked is what is the ICC doing to minimize these mistakes?

Age taking it's toll
It's a known fact that the faculties of an umpire should be at it's prime if he is to be at his best.With age catching up these faculties tend to be less effective.Today the biggest offenders in the ICC elite panel of umpires are the oldest ones.Steve Bucknor 57,David Shepherd 63 Srinivas Venkataghavan 58,and Daryl Harper 52.Ironically their best umpires are the young Simon Taufel 33 and Billy Bowden 40.Thus isn't it time for the ICC to limit the age of their umpires!

TV help required
Another aspect that should be looked into is the help of TV technology.The experiment conducted during the ICC Champions trophy in Sri Lanka was believed to be a success.However for reasons best known to the ICC it shelved plans to bring in more help through TV technology.It's high time that the on-field umpires get some help from the TV umpires with regard to lbw decisions and bat/pad catches,which has been the bone of contention.

Or else the ICC's call for players earlier this week to respect umpires will only fall on deaf ears.In fact what the ICC ought to be doing is to help the umpires to give the correct decisions and thereby get the umpires to earn the respect of the players.What must be understood is that players are also human,they are emotional and can get carried away by the situation.Thus, instead of slapping the Code of conduct on the players the ICC should first do everything possible to avoid such situations.

The ICC's overriding philosophy concerning the role of umpires is that cricket is a game played by humans and should be umpired by humans.Technology will only be used in decision making if it can provide conclusive answers.Good enough,but with umpires now making more wrong decisions than right decisions it's time that the ICC shrugs off it's philosophy and acts swiftly to improve the game and benefit the players and the spectators.

Sri Lanka Cricket taken for a ride by sponsor?
Three weeks of the Inter-Provincial Tournament has progressed and the sponsor 10 Sports has still not paid the required sum to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) nor is there any sign of the sponsor at any of the venues.

According to Jayantha Kudahetty, Director Marketing SLC, the sponsor ,10 Sports is a local company and not the Dubai based Taj Televisions company (Ten Sports).He further stated that the contract with 10 Sports is still on and they hope the sponsor who has still to establish his local company will pay up the millions promised.

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