This Ain't Cricket

Andrew Symonds in no Adam Gilchrist. He doesn't walk when his nick is caught. But his confession at the end of the first day of the second Test in Sydney - that he was lucky not to be given out by umpire Steve Bucknor - is a reflection of today's cricket.

Let's put his remark in perspective. Bucknor gave him the reprieve when Symonds had scored only 30 runs. His wicket could have helped Indians to wrap up Australia for less than 250 runs. Instead, Symonds rampaged to an unbeaten 162 and in the process helped his team finish at 463. That's a competitive score on a fast-paced Sydney track and the umpire's error may well have turned the tide in Australia's favour. And you thought batsmen and bowlers won or lost matches!

Today, Symonds is not an exception in world cricket. His captain, Ricky Ponting, has always maintained that the umpire ought to tell him to go if he has to. He, too, did not walk when he knew he was out to Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday.

Many others among today's cricketers play the game hard and in a manner similar to that of Ponting. Similarly, Bucknor is not an exception among umpires. He, and other umpires, have erred before and, in all probability, will in future.

When cricket was a gentleman's game, umpiring was a simpler task. The bowler and fielders appealed when they genuinely thought the batsman was out, and the batsman didn't wait for the umpire's decision when he knew he was out. Trust was built into the conduct of the game. The umpire could trust players' reactions and take a decision accordingly.

The pressure on umpires was far less than now. But cricket is a highly competitive sport today, almost a war between nations. Teams play to win at all costs. In that perspective, the Symonds' incident is a watershed.

New situations call for new methods of judgment and umpiring has to change with the times to ensure high standards of fairness. Technology can raise the quality of umpiring significantly by reducing the human error factor. The concept of a third umpire, who watches the game in the pavilion armed with technology that facilitates replays and slow-motion views from various angles, was introduced in the 1990s to minimise umpiring errors.

However, the third umpire currently has a limited role as an aide to umpires on the field. It is left to the discretion of umpires on the ground whether to seek the third umpire's opinion. That has to change. Give players the right to appeal - maybe with a limited number allowed per innings - to the third umpire.

Such checks and balances would ensure that players get a fair deal in an age when gentlemanly understanding and trust are less respected than the precision of technology.