DRS call picture shows cricket is broken, Sachin Tendulkar demands change

The technology was supposed to eradicate complaints about arbitration, but all it is doing is driving more people crazy.

The Decision Review System (DRS) has already been criticized in this series and fed up cricket fans raised their arms in despair after another call on the fourth day of India’s convincing victory at the MCG showed that lawmakers have a long way to go. do the process well.

Ravi Ashwin’s LBW shout against Mitchell Starc was rejected by the outfield referee, but the Indians believed the quick Aussie had been trapped up front so they took the stairs for a review.

Hawkeye showed that some of the ball was going to hit the stumps, but not all of the ball, so he felt that it was still close enough for Starc to have the benefit of the doubt, and the decision was left as “the referee’s decision.” .

If the field umpire had called Starc out and he had checked, then they would have sent him packing. But because the official kept his finger on the ground initially, Starc received a reprieve.

Surprisingly, the batter himself had started walking back to the clubhouse so he was sure the original decision would be overturned and he would be handed over, but he was pleasantly surprised.

The incident did not influence the outcome: Starc reached 14 but was left without teammates as the Australians were eliminated by 200 in their second inning, and India went through the modest chase to secure an eight-wicket clinical victory.

It is not the precision of the technology, but the way DRS is used, with two possible outcomes available based on the referee’s original decision, that has left a sour taste in many people’s mouths.

“I hate this referee’s call,” former Australian bowler Brett Lee said on Fox Cricket. “Sorry that’s out … look where he’s hitting, hitting the middle and the leg.”

Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar did not like DRS during his playing days and is totally against using the “referee’s decision”.

“I’m not at all convinced with the DRS rule,” he said in a podcast. “Why do the players go to the third referee? Because they are not happy with the referee’s decision on the field.

“Once you go up the stairs, the decision on the field should not be taken into consideration at all.

“It doesn’t really matter if the ball is hitting 10 percent or 15 percent of the wicket. It shouldn’t matter because when they throw you, nobody talks about it.

“Since we’ve decided to go ahead with the technology, let’s go back. In a period of time we will get closer to 100 percent. At least in everyone’s mind we are clear if the ball is hitting any part of the stump (it’s out).

Tendulkar added on Twitter: “The DRS system should be thoroughly vetted by @ICC, especially for the ‘Referee Call’.”

Cricket journalist Melinda Farrell tweeted: “Christmas is over, but DRS is still handing out presents to all of us.

“The really frustrating thing is that the bail line is actually under the bail. That’s ridiculous. It’s like two sets of rules in one game.”

Sports journalist Tim Michell wrote: “DRS is having a mare.”

Even AFL star Josh Jenkins was angry. “The LBW DRS rule is a sham … IF you’re hitting the stumps, you’re hitting the stumps. Simple!” wrote on Twitter.

Iconic cricket commentator Jim Maxwell said: “DRS needs a hearing aid and ophthalmic surgery … kidding, but break it.”

Joe Burns was lucky to survive a scream from LBW in his second inning when India checked after he failed to deliver. As in Starc’s case, Hawkeye showed that the ball would have hit the stumps, but because he wasn’t cutting through enough wood, the Australian starter was awarded a life.

On the first day, Marnus Labuschagne appeared to have been plumbed in front of his pegs by Ashwin only for DRS to claim the ball was bouncing over the bails, prompting Shane Warne and many others to express their disbelief at what The technology had emerged.

Speaking to reporters after the Melbourne loss, Australian captain Tim Paine lamented the “frustrating” hypocrisy on display regarding how DRS was used during the test, dirty he had been given when Indian star Cheteshwar Pujara survived in almost identical circumstances.