All in favour say yes

Tony Becca, ON THE BOUNDARY

month, sometime between June 26 and June 30 to be exact, whether to implement the Decision Review System (DRS) in all international matches, and everyone in cricket, or almost everyone, is hoping that the members vote yes.

At its meeting on May 10, the ICC cricket committee, chaired by West Indian Clive Lloyd, unanimously recommended the use of the system

for all internationals, Test, one-day internationals, and Twenty20, but with just one failed review for ODIs and T20s instead of the usual two.

First used in Test matches during the 2008 series between India and Sri Lanka, the DRS system has not been used in every Test series, mainly because of cost but also because of India's claim that it is too unreliable.

In 2008, Sri Lanka made 11 successful appeals, India made only one, Sri Lanka won the series, and India have opposed its use ever since, claiming that the system is too unreliable.

In the last World Cup, however, the DRS system was used throughout the entire tournament, and despite a few questionable decisions, mostly to do with the confusing 2.5-metre leg before wicket (lbw) rule, it was considered successful.

Although India won the World Cup, however, they are still against its use, based on the words of the BCCI secretary.

unacceptable

N. Srinivasan said: "I am a member of the executive board, and we will put forward the BCCI's position, which has been very clear from the start when the executive board meets."

And then he went on: "The cricket committee is just a sub-committee and it can only make recommendations, it is for the executive board to ratify them or not. We will oppose it at the executive board because the DRS in its present form is unacceptable to us."

It may be unacceptable to India but it is not unacceptable to others who see the DRS system, with all its teething problems, with the 2.5 metre lbw rule and all, as being a fair system employing the use of the technology.

More important, how can you have international cricket played under different rules, how can you have Australia playing the West Indies with the DRS system, and India playing South Africa without the DRS system, and how can cricket deal with a system in which a batsman can appeal against a decision and one in which a batsman cannot.

Clive Lloyd, in announcing the committee's recommendation, said that the recommendation shows two things, one, the confidence in the system, and two, the committee's view that it does aid the umpires in making the right decisions."

And according to Dave Richardson, the ICC general manager of cricket, consistency is important. "It confuses the players and viewers if one series has DRS and another does not."

The DRS is not the perfect system, surely, the ball-tracking for lbw decisions cannot and should not be relied on, at least not now, not until it is foolproof or not until it is accepted by all.

It would be nice to have everyone in agreement in Hong Kong , but even if India do not agree while everybody else agrees, so be it.