Joe Root’s dismissal in the second innings sparked debates on social media, leading to Vaughan offering a rather unusual solution
In the ongoing Test series between India and England, the Decision Review System (DRS) has been one of the major talking points. England’s Ben Stokes had expressed doubts about the technology after their defeat in Rajkot last week, when he stated he wanted the Umpire’s Call scrapped. In Ranchi, another DRS controversy unfolded when former captain Joe Root was given out in the second innings on Sunday.
The Hawk-Eye for Joe Root’s dismissal in the 4th Test(X)
Starting their innings with a 46-run lead, England faced a tough challenge against India’s spin attack; Ravichandran Ashwin struck early, dismissing Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope on consecutive deliveries. He further dented England’s hopes by removing Root, but the manner of dismissal triggered significant discussion in the cricketing circles.
Hindustan Times – your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.
Also read ‘Rohit asked me and Jadeja who wants to…’: ‘Rewired’ Ashwin’s brave act for India despite ‘knee acting up’
In the final delivery of the 17th over, Ashwin’s delivery on the leg-stump line seemed to go past Root’s inside edge and hit him on the front pad. Umpire Kumara Dharmasena was unconvinced, as the delivery appeared to be pitching outside the leg stump. However, Rohit Sharma and co. decided to review the decision.
Although UltraEdge showed no involvement of the bat, the ball-tracking indicated three reds, leading to Root’s dismissal. The English camp was surprised by the decision, particularly considering that a significant portion of the ball seemed to be pitching outside the leg stump, raising doubts about the accuracy of the technology.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan wasn’t too satisfied with the technology and, in his column for the Telegraph, seemed to offer a solution that could add to the “integrity” of the system.
“It only takes one look at social media to see that a lot of people don’t trust it,” Vaughan wrote of Joe Root’s decision.
“There is so much anger and suspicion about decisions that go for or against certain teams. There’s suspicion about host broadcasters and who is in the truck. That is despite the technology companies not actually being from the same country as the host broadcaster. For instance, Hawk-Eye is a company from the UK but is being used in this series. They are just brought in by the host broadcaster.
“So here’s a simple solution to help improve transparency and accountability: stick a camera and microphone in the truck so as a decision is being made, we all know exactly what is going on, and how much humans are involved. And if you stick an ICC official in there as well we’d know that the integrity – something we talk so much about in the game – is intact. You could argue that those running the technology in the truck are as important as the two standing umpires,” wrote Vaughan.
The former England captain further stated that the TV cameras can switch to the DRS truck whenever a decision needs to be reviewed to ensure “transparency” in decision-making.
“Technology in other sports like football or rugby clearly isn’t perfect but that is something they do better than cricket. It’s more accountable and transparent, and we can watch the decision being made.
“It would be so much better for everyone – the players, the broadcasters, the technology companies, and the viewers – if there was a camera in the truck that showed us that decision being made, so we can all follow the process. The umpire makes the signal for DRS and we go straight to the truck and show us exactly how we come to the final decision,” Vaughan suggested.
