da heads bet： Day one of the New Year Test was marred by poor umpiring decisions, with India getting the worst of it. A selection of what the pundits and the papers had to say
da doce： 03-Jan-2008
Ganguly appeals in vain for a leg-side catch off Ricky Ponting © Getty Images
“Blind men in white coats do India in”
Times of India”Umpires and traditionalists resist the onset of technology to resolve tricky decisions. Nothing in yesterday’s events advanced their cause… Batsmen and fielding teams ought to be allowed three references an innings, the strategy adopted in tennis. It is high time the lords and masters of the game adopted this policy.
“They claim technological assistance takes too long. But even if is slow, we still must use it. Otherwise, all of a sudden the game’s taken away from a side, as it happened in the case of India on Wednesday.”
“I don’t think the game needs to go where every decision gets referred, There are ways you can improve it, but let’s not push and poke and prod it too much.”
“Today, we had a decision referred to the third umpire, and you still got the wrong decision made.”
“It’s time for Steve Bucknor to retire. He has been a good umpire, but he is past his sell-by date. He is human. ICC must do something about it.”
“The world’s No.1 umpire for the past three years is Simon Taufel from Sydney and he should be out in the middle making the crucial decisions under pressure for this is what the best aspire to.I believe the argument for neutral umpires was valid years ago when there was a degree of acceptance for mediocrity due to a lack of television cameras and part-time officials, while the scourge of match-fixing was also lurking beneath the surface.”
Steve Waugh makes a radical suggestion