uMPirinG anD tHe huMAN eLEMent.

wHAT is the moST thankLESS joB in cRikKEt? yeS...it is the mAN standinG in the whiTE coat! ofCourse timES have chanGEd and the fast paced t20 introduced coLOR clothinG to the moST importanT man in the cRikKEt fielD...tHE uMPire.

eveR since the evoluTION of interNATIonal cRikKEt, it is the uMPire that has the sole authoriTY to makE the decisions on the cRikKEt field about the leGAlity of a delivery, the aPPEal of a wicket, conDUCT of the gaME etc....does it look stuPID to make this staTEment? ofcourse things are changing and yes we have the thirD eye looking for us and making the decisions! tHe concePT of introucinG the thiRD uMPire for the first time in an iNDia - souTH aFriCA match in 1992 has changed the way decisIONs are made on the 22yard strIP! cRikKEt never remaiNED the samE and the beauty of the game starteD waNING! tHe beauTY of the genTLEman's game lies in the uncertaiNTy of a dismissal!

techNOLOGY has impacted spoRTS a lot in the last 2 decADEs or so and cRikKEt is no exCEPtion! iF the sCHool of baTTing, bOWLing, fielDING, coaCHING, capTAIning and evEN cRikKEt jourNALism has improveD a lot, uMPiring was always put in the back seat! tHe reasons are manyfold!! theRE was nevER a real bOOSt for attracTING taLENt into the sCHool of uMPiring!!! aParT from the kanGAROO natION, the bRIT isLAND and the cHOKEr land there were never any real good facilitiES or trainING prograMS for unEARthing the neW taLENT in uMPirng. so muCH for havinG to raise youR finGER and walk to the sQUAre leG? iT is infact truE that a lot of fitNESS is required to assiSST the cRikKEt uMPire in foCUS and concENTration aPARt from a keeN aCUMen for the gaME!

a posITIVE proPOSItion was the introduction of the eLITE panEL of uMPires since 2002. currENtly there are 11 members in this panel and for a better uMPiring fuTurE towards an expanDING and demanDING cRikKEt caLENder, this needs to increase manyfold! The fuEL for grOWth has to come from the graSSroot organizations like the sTATe assoCIAtions and the cLUBS. A posITIVE iMPACt should happEN thru' the t20 leaGUEs like tHe iPL, the chaMPIONs leaGUE etc. I doNOT see this happeninG yet, but wisH that drives the growTH of an uMPire!

alAS...and the more woRRyinG factoR is the conCEPt of referralS!!! iF the introDUCtion of the third eYE (I prefer this name to the thiRD uMPire) was absurD, the aDDITion of the team's cHALLEnGe (I prefer this name to reFFeraL conCEPT) suPPOSed to haPPEn sooN is definiteLY aTROCious! This would further reduce the huMAN eLEment involveD in the genTLEMAN's game and the unCErtainitY factor is missinG! moRE thaN this, the depenDANCe on techNOLOGY is redUCIng the perFORMANce of an uMPire on the fielD! Hope beTTer senSE prevails in the cRikKEting fratERNITY beFORE new changes are made. I doNOT say that the cRikKEtinG boDY is duMB, but aLL i saY is to sTRIKE a balanCE between the huMAN elemENT and the involveMENT of techNOLOGY. iF someTHIng is not completeLY fOOLprooF, beTTer noT use it than end UP in unWANTED conTROVERsies!

enouGH has been said and wriTTEn about the uMPiring blunDERs like the sYdnEY fiasCO, the laTEST asHES in engLAND etc.

sTAY tunED for my next artiCLE on the doMINance of SPINners in woRLD cRikKEt!

uNtiL laTeR... gOod morNing and goOd luCk!