David Morgan did not have an itemized agenda when he won the vote to become the next president of the International Cricket Council.
Thanks to the ongoing India-Australia Test series, he now has two: the increased use of technology to ensure against a repeat of the on-field controversies that marred the Sydney Test between India and Australia, and a reaffirmation of commitment to the 'spirit of cricket' that, in the opinion of Indian captain Anil Kumble, had gone missing in Sydney.
David Hopps, in the Guardian, reports that Morgan will support -- even push for on an urgent basis -- the trial of a referral system, that has been long mooted as a means to end on-field controversies.
Per this system, each team will be given a fixed number of appeals per innings; in the event of decisions the team is not happy with, it will have the right to appeal.
The more radical segments of opinion have further proposed that in the event a team gets its referral upheld, it should be given a bonus referral -- in other words, if say a team has three referrals allowed in a particular innings, if it uses one of those to challenge an LBW decision where the ball in fact hit the bat first, and if that referral is upheld, then that successful referral should not count, and the team in question should still have three.
Morgan is equally determined, says Hopps, that the 'Spirit of Cricket', a concept first instituted by the late England batsman Sir Colin Cowdrey and subsequently institutionalized in the preamble to the laws of cricket, should be reaffirmed.
The Spirit of Cricket is essentially about respecting the game, umpires and opponents and leaves the captain chiefly, but not solely, responsible for his team's actions, Hopps writes. It says players must compete not only within the letter of the law but within its spirit, desisting from cheating, abusive language and sharp practice.
"I don't think fielders are ever going to be silent and nor would I expect them to be," Hopps quotes Morgan as saying. "We all want to see a vibrant and competitive game. People are always going to have things to say in a competitive situation but they need not compromise the spirit of sportsmanship."
Morgan is dismissive of the argument that greater use of technology will undermine the authority of on-field umpires. "It is a nonsense that those watching on TV are in a better position than the umpires," Morgan is quoted as saying.
"There is no doubt that in some areas you need it. We have to do something to make umpiring safer. Let's find a way of embracing technology in a way that doesn't slow the game down and doesn't diminish the authority and the standing of the on-field umpire."
Interestingly, when the ICC had discussed the enhanced use of technology at a meeting last year, Australia had voted against, to tie the vote at 5-5.
