The news broke on the day it emerged the umpires at Trent Bridge failed to follow the correct procedure for the lbw dismissal of Jonathan Trott.
The failure of the Hot Spot thermal imaging system to provide a side-on angle which would have proved whether Trott hit the ball before it struck his pad should have ensured the not out decision of on-field umpire Aleem Dar stood.
Appendix three of the ICC playing regulations for Test cricket state in circumstances “where the television technology (all or parts thereof) is not available to the third umpire or fails” the third umpire can only offer advice but the final decision remains with the on-field umpire. Dar had orignally given Trott not out.
The introduction of dedicated television umpires will also be proposed to the ICC, with the belief growing among cricket boards that the job requires specialist training in the wake of the Trott controversy.
Only four members of the ICC Elite Panel of umpires are not from
England or
Australia, leaving Marais Erasmus, Aleem Dar, Tony Hill and Kumar Dharmasena to rotate as on-field and television umpires during a maximum of 150 highly pressurised sessions of Ashes cricket.
This fact has been raised by both Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board at ICC level, with fears the workload could lead to a drop in umpiring standards and the potential for grudges to grow between players and umpires who have spent too much time working together.
England are already unhappy with the performance of Erasmus for his controversial decision to rule Trott lbw but have not objected to him standing out in the middle next week at Lord’s and for the third Test at Old Trafford. He will also be the third umpire for the fourth Test.
There are 12 umpires on the Elite panel list who stand in Tests around the world, but the four from England and four from Australia are ineligible for Ashes cricket as umpires cannot take charge of matches involving their own country.
The suggestion is for umpires to be promoted temporarily from the ICC’s international panel of officials, the level below the elite grade, although there are inevitable concerns about the standard of officials from that level.
That level includes Billy Bowden, who was recently demoted from the elite list, and umpires who have never stood in Test cricket.
The longer-term solution is an expansion of the elite panel list, which would incur extra expense for the ICC. There is no Indian representative at elite level but the Board of Control for Cricket in India has recently established an umpiring academy to raise standards.
The introduction of specialist television umpires would be costly but is seen as a method of reducing the workload of those on the elite list and offer experience to younger officials.
Simon Taufel, formerly one of the world’s leading umpires who is now in charge of training the next generation of officials, is believed to be in support of the proposal.
There is a two-day meeting next week in India where Taufel and the ICC’s national umpire managers will brainstorm ideas to improve training.
The Trott incident was complicated by the failure of the Hot Spot system to work and provide full technological evidence for Erasmus to consult. The inventor of Hot Spot will upgrade the system’s software during the Ashes series in order to ensure it does not happen again.
The mistake was caused by a failure of the system and operator error. The Hot Spot operator was trying to organise a replay of the Joe Root dismissal when Trott was struck on the pads. He inadvertently failed to record the Hot Spot image from square-leg for the Trott dismissal and store it to the hard drive.
“There were two mistakes and that was disappointing,” Warren Brennan, the inventor of Hot Spot told The Daily Telegraph. “I know there are things we can do to improve the system and we are going to have to push those improvements up the list.”
Bennett also believes the problem could be solved if cricket boards and the ICC contributed to the cost of the system which is largely paid for by broadcasters.
At the moment boards refuse to pay for an independent system and operators and rely on footage provided by television companies. The ECB pay a nominal amount to the cost incurred in this country but arguments over paying for the system has left cricket officials relying on television to make decisions which can have a huge impact on the result of a match.
“The ICC and other cricket boards have tried to take the easy way out with Hot Spot and the ball-tracking technology,” said Brennan.
“They have not wanted to put in any money into these systems and push it off to the broadcasters. That is the disappointing thing. If there was more focus and money put into the umpiring side we could have separate systems for television and the umpires.
"That would be best-case scenario. But with most of the cost paid by the broadcasters they see us as their client and vica-versa. We are not working for the cricket boards or the ICC.”
The ECB is a strong supporter of the decision review system but every time there is a mistake or controversial incident it further complicates delicate negotiations to persuade the Indian board to embrace the system.
“Until the Indians come on board there will not be extra money put in. Basically it is dogs chasing their own tails at the moment,” added Brennan.
How the ICC Elite Umpire panel works
The ICC umpires panel is managed by Vincent van der Byl, the former South African pace bowler, and reviewed on a 12-month basis by world cricket’s governing body.
Umpires are paid a salary of around £200,000 plus expenses. Last month Billy Bowden, the New Zealand umpire, was removed from the elite list after a review of his recent performances.
There is a five-step criteria for appointing umpires for international matches. Tests are officiated by three neutral umpires, one-day internationals by one neutral umpire and one home umpire.
Under the current ICC regulations, for Test matches umpires are chosen on the basis of the following criteria: neutrality, the best available for each series or match, better performing umpires used more often, frequency of individuals appointed to the same teams, and consideration of their workloads.
The current 12-man Elite panel
England
- Nigel Llong
- Ian Gould
- Richard Kettleborough
- Richard Illingworth
Australia
- Steve Davis
- Bruce Oxenford
- Rod Tucker
- Paul Reiffel
Sri Lanka
South Africa
New Zealand
Pakistan
