The Real Umpire

In these changing times, Sharma remembers that Eden Garden night and confesses that he had made a mistake. 8216;8216;It was one those things that happen to every umpire. Involuntarily, the finger somehow gets raised. In the heat of the moment, one does things that the mind doesn8217;t quite agree with. Just as Trescothick was walking back, I knew I had got it wrong. I asked my fellow umpire Hariharan, 8216;Should I call him back?8217;. But looking at the volatile Eden crowd, I decided against it.8217;8217;

England captain Nasser Hussain went on to question all the four lbw decisions8212;two each by Sharma and Hariharan8212;at Eden that day in his report. Sharma never got an international game after that.

8226; 2006, Chittagong: Australia vs Bangladesh, 2nd Test: Ricky Ponting8217;s intervention sees third umpire reversing field umpire8217;s decision8212;declares Bangladesh Aftab Ahmed out.

CAPTAIN challenging an umpire8217;s decision? That8217;s what a report, to be tabled by ICC General Manager Dave Richardson next month, proposes. And if that gets the ICC nod, the Champions Trophy later this year will be the lab for cricket8217;s latest experiment8212;one that will redefine the umpire8217;s role, once again.

Ask Sharma if Richardson8217;s recommendation would have saved him the life-long trauma and the umpire with 25 years of experience says, 8216;8216;I look at it differently. I wouldn8217;t like a captain questioning my decision. It8217;s an ego thing and no self-respecting official will like it. But I wouldn8217;t mind the third umpire and the match referee telling me that I have made an error.8217;8217;

While Sharma fears that excess use of technology might eventually reduce the field umpire to a wooden stand, where players hang their sweaters and caps, he says it8217;s better than players challenging his decision on the field.

Says a former ICC Elite panel umpire, who did not wish to be named, 8216;8216;I saw this coming and I also see a future when we will be redundant. The third umpire has already started counting the balls and timing the batsmen8217;s entry on the field. The vital decision regarding bowling action, pitch condition, crowd disturbance, excessive appealing and ball tampering are being taken by the match referee now. The only thing that kept us going was the fact our raised finger was the unquestionable authority on the most important aspect of the game. With that too being referred upstairs, it means more power to the men sitting there.8217;8217;

In fact, even former match referees aren8217;t keen on the idea of captains questioning the field umpire. K Hanumant Singh, who officiated in nine Tests and 54 ODIs, says, 8216;8216;This is taking things a bit too far, the field umpires shouldn8217;t be questioned.8217;8217;

The former Test player says match referees entered the arena to uphold the spirit of the game and their role should be confined to just that. 8216;8216;Heard the phrase 8216;this is not cricket8217;? Even Germans and Russians use these words when they wanted to convey 8216;this is not fair8217;. Such was the reputation of the game. When this status was being eroded, the ICC thought of appointing match referees,8217;8217; he says.

Another former match referee, who did not wish to be named, said that over the years the system hasn8217;t supported field umpires who have taken a stand. 8216;8216;I appreciate umpires like Darrell Hair who was bold enough to call Muthiah Muralitharan for chucking. But he wasn8217;t supported. It seems that the men in power don8217;t want field umpires to be pro-active. They prefer the behind-the-scenes ambiguity of the match referee that is too complicated with all those tedious procedures and permissible degrees of elbow extension,8217;8217; he says.

Those who agree with Richardson say giving players a voice on field will make cricket more democratic. Democratic, not sure, but it certainly promises to make the game more dramatic.

WHO8217;S IN CHARGE?

Some 8216;historic8217; interventions by match referees:

1996, Kolkata: India vs Sri Lanka, World Cup semi-final. Match referee: Clive Llyod. Decision: Chasing 252, India reduced to 120/8. Crowd trouble, Lloyd awards match to Lanka.

2001, Port Elizabeth: India vs South Africa, 2nd Test. Match referee: Mike Denness. Decision: Six Indian, including Tendulkar, pulled up. BCCI gets Denness replaced for next Test, which is declared an 8216;unofficial8217; game

1998, Jamaica: England vs West Indies, 1st Test. Match referee: Barry Jarman. Decision: England 17/3 in 10 overs on crumbling wicket. Jarman consults umpires 038; captains, declares Test abandoned.

2006, Chittagong: Australia vs Bangladesh, 1st Test: Match referee: Jeff Crowe. Decision: Australian captain Ricky Ponting8217;s intervention sees third umpires reversing decision, Aftab Ahmed given out. But Crowe fines Aussie captain for 8220;dissent8221;.