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Journalism of Courage
Mansoor Rana has made a name for himself internationally but he is still known as the son of a famous father. The coach, who took Pakistan to the 2006 under-19 World Cup title, regularly gets introduced as late umpire Shakoor Rana8217;s son. In these times of umpire-triggered cricket crisis, Mansoor recalls the famous confrontation between his father and England captain Mike Gatting at Faisalabad in 1987.
8220;I still have that apology letter that Gatting wrote to my father. My father was adamant on getting it. The only pressure he felt was that I and other family members might have had to bear the brunt of his strong stance,8221; says Mansoor of the incident where Shakoor Rana refused to take the field unless Gatting apologised for the previous day8217;s wagging-the-finger incident.
The 45-year-old Rana junior has no apprehensions to say that the word 8216;neutral8217; was added to international umpires courtesy the Faisalabad incident. And in a mocking tone adds, 8220;Maybe, after Sydney there will be a call for neutral players!8221;
That in other words means if Faisalabad, 1987, convincingly proved that home umpires aren8217;t always gentlemen, Sydney, 2008 showed that the men in flannels too aren8217;t exactly lily white. Mutual respect, spirit of the game, healthy banter and, most importantly, pre-tour understanding became archaic concept. Cricket8217;s lazy stroll through the last century, all the time lugging the baggage of its amateur days, has been repeatedly exposed it in the modern era. The Oval fiasco, the dark end to the World Cup final and now Sydney 8212; cricket hasn8217;t been able to keep pace with other sport and the journey in the new millennium has been tough. While six-pack cricketers aspire and even achieve the athletism, competitiveness and threadbare scientific know how of other ever-evolving sports, cricket8217;s underbelly betrays its bush league rules.
Former elite panel umpire AV Jayaprakash has had a close association with the old rule book and the men who try to follow it. Ask him about the reported pre-tour understanding between Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting about the close catches and the din that followed when umpire Mark Benson respected the captains8217; pact and Jayaprakash feels hurt. 8220;It is very depressing. The players always give this big talk about the spirit of the game. But once they enter the field things totally change,8221; he says.
Sydney saw how these things make rules ambiguous and open to interpretations. Jayaprakash is of the view that everything should be in black and white. 8220;The playing conditions should be crystal clear. Every thing should be in the rule book. It is only then that things will fall in place,8221; he says. Cricket8217;s leeway for the Ponting-Kumble kind of pact made it unique in several ways but in the market-driven sport played by professionals such understandings are out of place. Tennis has turned to technology for close line-calls recently, but one could never really imagine John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors agree to take each other8217;s word about the ball being in or out. Cricket is overdue for a change and it is the old-timers who are vehemently advocating it. Former match referee Raman Subba Row and the world8217;s best known umpire Harold 8216;Dickie8217; Bird say that since the players aren8217;t what they used to be and the spirit of the game dead long back, a reassessment of the game in required see box.
Former international umpires VK Ramaswamy and SK Bansal are unanimous that technology is the way out. 8220;The ICC may want to bring in technology as much as possible and that is for the technical committee to decide how good or bad that can be. However, personally I believe that umpires should be able to use that same technology for self-assessment,8221; says Ramaswamy.
He goes on to add: 8220;Umpires should make use of technology to get as better as they can in lessening the errors. The least number of errors makes the best umpire.8221;
The other solution to the problem is increasing the number of umpires in the elite panel. 8220;Compared to the number of matches played these days, the present number is too small. When match schedule gets hectic, there are more chance of making mistakes,8221; says Ramaswamy. Bansal talks about the pressure on umpires. He has been in tense environment at Eden Gardens during the famous India-Australia series in 2001. 8220;I remember the Kolkata Test. Australia were batting in the fourth innings and Harbhajan Singh looked like he could take a wicket with every ball. It was difficult given the crowd, the tense situation, the pressure rising for both teams. As an umpire, it was as tough as it could get,8221; he recalls.
The 67-year-old is candid enough to say that to have an error-free game, machines should be just an arm8217;s length away. 8220;Umpiring is a professional job. But human effort is not always perfect. If machines can provide the answer towards reaching perfection then what is the harm?8221; he says. But Bansal is of the strong view that players should never be given the right to a final word on decision. 8220;Ponting being asked by Benson whether Clarke had taken the catch is not justified. The umpire should8217;ve consulted the third umpire himsel,8221; he says.
In a way the umpires are striking back. For years they have stood silently as batsmen stared at them on the way to the pavilion and bowlers have disrespectfully snatched their caps from them. Now the general feeling among the decision makers is they might prefer drawing rectangles in air rather than consult the players about a dodgy catch.
