UDRS

2011 edition of world cup has seen a lot of action till date. England beating the contenders while getting beaten by two of the weakest teams in the group and almost losing with the third, a tied match, a blitzkrieg innings by Ross Taylor to sink the Pakistani ship and of course two great innings by the batting maestro. But one of the major factors which have affected this world cup has been the UDRS referral system. One of the proponents of the UDRS system Duncan Fletcher has few thoughts on how stupidly the system has been used sometimes and how ICC keeps tinkering with it all the time. One needs to understand that the referral system is essentially meant not for the 50-50 chances but to avoid blunders and shockers which can change the course of the game. The high ratio of on-field umpires' withheld decisions to reversed decisions is a testimony of the fact that on field umpires are doing a fine job.

From the spectator's point of view, UDRS has taken away the imminent unadulterated joy from the dismissals. You feel like a kid who goes to collect his grade sheet, comes to know that he has topped the exam and is suddenly told that his papers would be rechecked and after a while same result is declared again. Though this subtle emotional aspect due to involving technology in the game, will neither make any difference to the ICC policies, BCCI's opposition to the referral system nor will it matter to the broadcasters. It will just remind the viewers of the era when the dreaded finger would have the last laugh.

Update (13th June 2011): It will be interesting to see how Duncan Fletcher deals with India's constant opposition to UDRS when he is the coach of Indian team and when BCCI continues to rule the global cricket scenario.