Despite the rapid strides made in umpiring technology, former India captain and senior umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan says he prefers to make very limited use of the third umpire because technology cannot provide conclusive evidence in every case.
"Except in the cases of direct hits inducing a close runout or similar incidents -- like whether the wicketkeeper or the fielder had the ball in his hands when the bails came off or the fielder made body contact with the rope on the boundary line -- which as an umpire, I cannot determine, I will not like to refer to the third umpire," he said.
Venkataraghavan, 58, the only Indian on the International Cricket Council's elite panel of umpires, said that where technology cannot provide conclusive evidence, gestures like the one by Australian wicketkeeper and one-day international vice-captain Adam Gilchrist are to be welcomed.
Gilchrist had walked on his own in the World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka despite not having been ruled out by the umpire. Such gestures help the spirit of the game, Venkat said.
In particular, he raised doubts about the effectiveness of TV replays determining leg before decisions -- one of the new rules introduced on an experimental basis in the ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo last year -- saying the technology used was debatable.
"If the straight camera is not in line and even 1mm away from the stumps, it [the image it captures] can be distorted. And if the cameraman is not good enough, it can create problems. The camera, which is 100 yards away and 100 feet high, is not transfixed. So it can create parallax," said Venkat, who played 57 Test matches for India.
"Though it is accepted by people that it is the right thing to do, it will provide clarity only if every technology involved is perfect. If all the parameters are attended to, definitely it will be exact," he said.
Venkat, however, welcomed the experiments at Colombo and said they could not be implemented at the World Cup in South Africa for various resaons. "Like the other ICC umpires, I fully appreciate and welcome the experimental conditions. It took some time for the ICC to compile the whole gamut of playing conditions.
"They did not have enough technicians to go around the many grounds in South Africa and were unable to ensure uniformity. Perhaps the ICC did not enforce the experimental conditions in the just concluded World Cup for these reasons."
Venkat said he had discussions with the ICC on the rule according to which a batsman cannot be ruled out leg before wicket if the ball has pitched outside the leg stump. Under the experiments carried out in Colombo, the on-field umpires could seek the third umpire's opinion on leg before decisions too.
"It definitely holds up play, but there are hold-ups in cricket even otherwise," Venkat said. "If I am in doubt on the ball that pitched on the leg stump, I will first ask the third umpire whether it pitched on leg stump and if the answer is positive, then give the decision only after ascertaining the height and bounce of the ball and whether it would have hit the stumps."
Satisfied that he got about 95 per cent of his decisions correct, Venkat said that like players, umpires too go through "bad patches" and can commit mistakes. He said umpiring is a very "demanding" profession and it is only natural for mistakes to occur sometimes.
With bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar or Brett Lee, who bowl at 90 miles per hour or more, it takes less than 0.4 second for the ball to reach the batsman. "In that 0.4 second, the umpire has to watch for the no-ball and then fix his eyes on the trajectory of the ball to make numerous other decisions."
One thing that never influences Venkat's decisions, however, is the reputation of the players involved. "There would never be any consideration that the decision is against players like Sachin [Tendulkar] or Steve Waugh or that the appeal is being made by Glenn McGrath."
The veteran said it is important for umpires to handle pressure well and drive home the point that they are in command. "The communication skills of an umpire matter a lot in these situations," he said.
Venkataraghavan, who has been on the ICC's panel of umpires for more than a decade now, said there has not been much change in the attitude of players towards umpires over the years. "It has almost been the same," he said. "Maybe it has undergone a change, but not a sea change. Certain teams try to put pressure on umpires without realising that they are appealing too much. English players are pretty good in their approach with umpires. They understand the situation better than anyone else."
Welcoming the ICC's policy of having neutral umpires, he said the system provides an opportunity for local umpires to gain experience by observing international umpires in tight situations and also removes the bias in the minds of players and spectators.
Venkat and Englishman David Shepherd will be the two umpires for the third and fourth Tests of the Cable & Wireless series between the West Indies and Australia currently being contested in the Caribbean.
