by Gregory Crowther

Created on: January 28, 2010

The Umpire Review Decision System (UDRS) is a clunky moniker, but it is a relatively straightforward idea. As in many professional sports, the combination of television and technology has forced the regulating authorities in cricket to adapt the way that games are umpired, and that decisions are made and reviewed.

Traditionally cricket is played with two on-field umpires whose job is ensure the rules of the game are followed. A crucial part of their work is to respond to appeals from the fielding side that a batsmen is “out”. A batsmen can be out in several ways – caught, bowled, leg before wicket and so on – and each time the fielding team believes they are out they need to make a formal appeal to the umpire. If no appeal is made, the batsmen will not be given out.

Inevitably, there are many marginal decisions, when the pace of the ball, the movement of the batsmen, different sounds and other such variables make it difficult to determine if the batsmen is actually out or not. The judgement of the umpire in these cases is critical.

This can best be demonstrated with an example. The bowler delivers the ball, and the batsmen defends. As he moves forward, his bat hits his leg, making a small sound. Simultaneously, the ball passes extremely close to his bat before being caught by the fielder. The fielding team appeal. The umpire must decide if the ball actually hit the bat or not. Was there another sound besides the bat hitting the batsman's leg? Did the ball deviate after passing the bat? Once he has made his decision, traditionally both teams had no choice but to accept it, and continue with the game.

Not any more.

The UDRS is an acceptance of the fact that intensive television coverage combined with new technologies developed by television channels has frequently allowed the audience at home to see when umpires have got a decision wrong. Even more jarring, the large screens at many cricket grounds allow the players and fans, and indeed the umpire himself, to immediately see that the umpire has made an error. This led to many people to call for television replays to be brought into the game of cricket.

In 1992, the International Cricket Council determined that all international games would have a “3rd Umpire”. This umpire was off the field, and would have access to the television replays denied to the umpires on the field. However the 3rd Umpire was only called into play if the on-field umpire requested assistance. For example,

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