"Stick a camera and microphone in the truck"- Michael Vaughan calls for transparency after Joe Root's controversial dismissal on Day 3
Former England captain Michael Vaughan called for transparency in the decision-making process by the Hawk-Eye after Joe Root's controversial dismissal on Day 3 of the fourth Test between India and England at Ranchi.
With a magnificent century in the first innings, the 33-year-old was crucial to the pendulum swinging one way or the other. However, when batting on 11, Root was adjudged LBW off Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling when a fair share of the ball appeared to be pitching outside the leg stump.
Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph:
"So here is a simple solution to help improve transparency and accountability: stick a camera and microphone in the truck so as that a decision is being made, we all know exactly what is going on, and how much humans are involved. And if you stick an ICC official in there as well we would know that the integrity – something we talk so much about in the game – is intact. You could argue that those running the technology in the truck are as important as the two standing umpires."
Unfortunately for England, Root's dismissal saw them sink from 65/3 to 145 all-out, surrendering their first-innings advantage.
India will resume their second innings on 40/0, needing a further 152 runs to take an unassailable 3-1 series lead.
"It only takes one look at social media to see that a lot of people do not trust it" - Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan felt social media was a great indicator of the lack of trust in the technology making crucial decisions to emphasize the importance of transparency in decision-making.
Apart from the Root dismissal, several others throughout the series have raised eyebrows.
"It only takes one look at social media to see that a lot of people do not trust it. There is so much anger and suspicion about decisions that go for or against certain teams. There is suspicion about host broadcasters and who is in the truck. That is despite the technology companies not actually being from the same country as the host broadcaster. For instance, Hawk-Eye is a company from the UK but being used in this series. They are just brought in by the host broadcaster," wrote Vaughan.
Should England fall short in the Ranchi Test, it will be their first series defeat since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over as captain and coach in 2022.
Meanwhile, a win in the ongoing Test will ensure India's impeccable record of never suffering a home Test series defeat since 2012 remains intact.