 | | ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has expressed his disappointment at the absence of ball-tracking technology in the forthcoming Test series between England and India.... |
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has expressed his disappointment at the absence of ball-tracking technology in the forthcoming Test series between England and India. With the Decision Review System now commonplace in international cricket, it is becoming a rarity for the TV umpire not to have the full gamut of gadgets available to judge on disputed calls. Indeed, it appears that only India still refuse to assent to the use of predictive tracking systems, such as HawkEye, in lbw referrals.Their uncertainly means that, although there will be DRS in the series, which begins with the historic 2,000th Test at Lord's on Thursday, it will only be a halfway house, deprived of perhaps its most useful element. Lorgat, who confirmed the ICC intended to commission independent research into ball tracking to dispel lingering doubts, has been left frustrated by the issue. "I am disappointed. I firmly believe in technology," he said. "I believe it works - a vast majority of people believe it works - but there is a minority of people who have been concerned by ball tracking. "There is, perhaps, a lack of faith in the predictive element of the technology. "But what the technology is doing is exactly what the human eye is doing, with more accuracy. The original principle was to eliminate the obvious mistake - not the marginal call, not replacing the umpire - and I believe DRS is doing that." Lorgat, in London to mark the landmark fixture, also outlined a potentially groundbreaking suggestion for the planned world Test championship. It is already known that the ICC intend to pit the four top-ranked sides in world cricket against each other in a play-off in England in 2013, but Lorgat yesterday teased the possibility of a new development - the first timeless Test since 1939. With any Test 'final' requiring a winner and a loser, the governing body have been discussing ways in which the draw can be nullified on a one-off basis and Lorgat believes a match with no fixed end could be the best solution. "It is common knowledge that we hope in 2013 the top four teams will be involved in two semi-finals and a final to determine a world Test champion," he said. "The committee is currently working on it but it is not a good idea to end up with a drawn Test match. "Whether (drawn games) are decided on a first-innings basis or on runs scored in the game we don't know but they will come up with a viable formula to determine a winner. "The final may be a timeless Test, at this stage we don't know but we are looking into the mechanics. "Statistics tell us that most Test matches now produce a result inside five days, but it may yet be a timeless Test. "It is a work in progress but I would favour finding a winner because you want a world champion." |