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"Let's just ban umpire's call" - Former umpire Daryl Harper

Tim Paine distraught after being controversially given out caught behind
Tim Paine distraught after being controversially given out caught behind

Former ICC elite panel umpire Daryl Harper believes the 'umpire's call' rule must be scrapped from the Decision Review System (DRS). The rule has come into focus after some controversial decisions in the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Daryl Harper explained how scrapping the umpire's call rule will bring more clarity to the umpiring decisions.

"I've had enough of umpire's call. Let's just ban umpire's call. Get rid of the controversy and just go with it. Any contact with ball on stump will dislodge a bail. No 48 per cent, 49 per cent," Daryl Harper said
"The fact it's been going for 12 years and the public are still mystified, and the players are still mystified, would suggest that there are some deficiencies in either the communication or the understanding," he further added.

After 12 years, technology still isn't up to scratch: Daryl Harper

Tim Paine survived a controversial run-out call during the Boxing Day Test
Tim Paine survived a controversial run-out call during the Boxing Day Test

One of the contentious decisions in the Boxing Day Test was Tim Paine being adjudged not out in a close run-out call during Australia's first innings. While Paine was given the benefit of the doubt, Harper believes another frame could have adjudged him out.

The Australian skipper didn't benefit from DRS in the second innings as he was dismissed through a controversial caught-behind decision. Although there was nothing on the hotspot, the Real Time Snickometer (RTS) showed a spike as the ball passed Paine's bat.

Daryl Harper believes such inconsistencies in technology are only hampering umpiring decisions. He reckons the ICC must look into this matter and try to rectify the issues as soon as possible.

"You could get 10 Indians in a room and 10 Australians in a room and they would see the Tim Paine run out in the first innings, and the 10 Indians would say 'oh that's out' and the 10 Australians would say 'oh that's not out,'" Daryl Harper said.
"If there'd been another picture in between the two we were looking at, I think we probably could have ruled him out. So the technology after 12 years of this, it still isn't up to scratch," Daryl Harper added.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is level at 1-1 after the first two Tests. Given the kind of competitive cricket that is being played in the series, one can only hope that there are no umpiring howlers as they could cost either of the teams dearly.

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