No Hot Spot for India-England ODIs

Warren Brennan admitted disappointment with Hot Spot's performance during India's tour of England © Getty Images

Hot Spot will not be used for the upcoming ODI series between India and England, Warren Brennan, the chief executive of BBG Sports, the company behind the technology, has told ESPNcricinfo. Brennan admitted BBG Sports was disappointed with Hot Spot's performance during India's tour of England but also said he believed "it did not have BCCI's support" for the technology following that series.

Brennan's statement suggests a reversal of the agreement reached between the BCCI and BBG Sportsearlier in the year to use Hot Spot for India's home season, which also includes a scheduled full series against West Indies.

During the Pataudi Trophy, Hot Spot had proved inconclusive during referrals of several appeals for caught-behind and was subsequently criticised by the BCCI.

"BBG Sports is disappointed at how the Hot Spot performed in the UK during the England v India series. There were several incidents where we were hoping for better outcomes from the technology," Brennan told ESPNcricinfo in an e-mail. "Following the comments by Mr Srinivasan on September 20th in relation to Hot Spot and the DRS process, BBG Sports believed it did not have the support of the BCCI and promptly decided not to bring the Hot Spot to India for their upcoming home series."

When contacted, the BCCI said it didn't want to comment on the issue.

Upon taking over as BCCI president, N Srinivasan reverted to the board's original stance against the DRS following Hot Spot's performance on the England tour. In July this year, the BCCI had agreed to a compromisewith the ICC wherein Hot Spot was made mandatory in the use of DRS while ball-tracking technology was made optional.

"At the time, we were under the impression that Hot Spot was very good," Srinivasan had said after the BCCI's Annual General Meeting. "It is not necessary for me to dwell on the accuracy of Hot Spot, it was there for everybody to see. The BCCI will, at the next ICC meeting, raise the issue. We want to revisit it because we feel that Hot Spot is insufficient. We do not wish to use the DRS in its present form, even in its minimum standard."

As he had done in an interview on ESPNcricinfo's fortnightly audio show Time Out in July, Brennan reiterated that Hot Spot was not 100% accurate, and needed support all around the sport to be keep improving. "BBG Sports has at no time stated that the Hot Spot is a perfect system," Brennan's email said. "In order to continue to improve the system, BBG Sports needs broadcasters, the ICC and cricket boards to support the Hot Spot and DRS process."

At the start of what will be a packed cricket season, Brennan said BBG Sports was always trying to improve and expand the technology. He said he was confident of Hot Spot's "good use" in series outside of the subcontinent later in the year. "BBG Sports has continued to invest in Hot Spot technology and has purchased four new Hot Spot cameras in the past 6 months which we believe could improve the system dramatically," he said. "These new cameras will be put to good use for series in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia this southern summer." © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

DRS to be used, but not for lbw decisions

	The ICC announced that infra-red technology and stump microphones will be part of the DRS - though not for lbw decisions - but not ball-tracking © Getty Images

A watered-down version of the Decision Review System (DRS) will be used in the England-India series with both sides agreeing to not use the system for lbw decisions. A day before the first Test starts at Lord's, the ICC announced that infra-red technology and stump microphones will be part of the DRS - though not for lbw decisions - but not ball-tracking.

This meets the minimum standards for DRS usage stipulated by the ICC at its annual conference last month but the decision to do away with reviews of lbw decisions could lead to anomalies. For example, if a batsman is given out to a bat-pad catch, he can get the verdict reviewed and if it is overturned because there is no bat involved, the fielding side has no recourse to an lbw appeal.

An ICC statement said the ECB wanted to include ball-tracking technology (such as Hawk-Eye or Virtual Eye) but the Indian board didn't.

"While we are disappointed that the full DRS will not be used to support the umpires, we are pleased that the ECB and BCCI have worked hard to ensure the minimum DRS is used in this much anticipated series," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.

"It is common knowledge that the ICC and ECB would have liked ball tracking to have been included so that LBW decisions could have also been reviewed, but the last Chief Executives Committee and Board meeting in Hong Kong agreed to independently confirm the accuracy of ball-tracking technology. This will now take place as a matter of urgency."

The Indian board has long been averse to the DRS and had announced last month that it didn't want the system to be used in the England series. A compromise on the DRS was thrashed out at the ICC's annual conference later in the month. The series against England will be the first time India will be using the review system in Tests since 2008. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

India accepts modified version of DRS

HONG KONG: India agreed Monday to a modified version of the controversial Umpire Decision Review System, bringing to an end a damaging row which threatened to tear apart international cricket.

The International Cricket Council said its chief executives' committee (CEC) had unanimously agreed at its Hong Kong conference to make DRS mandatory in all international Tests and one-day matches, India's cricket authorities announced.

"The agreed standards will include infra-red cameras and audio-tracking devices," the ICC said in a statement on its website.

"The CEC also agreed that further independent and expert research will be carried out into ball-tracking technology and its accuracy and reliability.

"The continued use of ball-tracking technology as a decision-making aid will depend on bilateral agreement between the participating members."

The ground-breaking deal means that India will, for the first time, agree to using the DRS in a Test series when they tour England from July. But the world champions released a statement after the meeting insisting that the Hawkeye ball-tracking system remained "unacceptable".

"The BCCI has always expressed its willingness to embrace technology, for the betterment of the game," said Narayanaswami Srinivasan, the president-elect of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, in a statement posted on its website.

Hot Spot, the "thermal imaging" technology now available and made mandatory in the DRS, will mostly be used for close catches and edges.

But the committee decided that the use of Hawkeye, which tracks the trajectory of the delivery, would continue to depend on agreement between both teams in any match.

Lbw decisions will continue to be governed by the on-field umpires.

Under the agreement, teams will be allowed to make one incorrect challenge to an on-field umpire's decision before all their referrals for that innings are used up.

A two-challenge system, broadly accepted by most of cricket's leading nations, was in use at the recent World Cup in the subcontinent, which India won.

The BCCI had questioned the accuracy of the technology involved in the DRS and Monday's deal marks a significant concession from the world champions, who have been opposed almost from the moment of the system's inception in 2009.

India had been adamant they wanted no part of DRS in their four-Test tour of England and a controversial lbw decision during the rivals' tied World Cup match, where England's Ian Bell was given not out even though replays suggested he was in fact lbw, seemed to have hardened their stance.

But Dave Richardson, the ICC's general manager for cricket, had said following a two-day meeting of the ICC's cricket committee at Lord's in May he was confident of changing India's mind.

India, whose financial clout in world cricket gives them huge bargaining power among the Test-playing nations, have often drawn criticism for what has been seen as their unhealthy influence on the global game.

"Making DRS mandatory is a move that has huge consequences for the game, and we can't talk enough before implementing it," said ESPNcricinfo assistant editor Sidharth Monga, in an opinion piece on the website.

The mandatory terms and conditions for the DRS have been recommended to the executive board for approval on Tuesday, seen as a formality now that India's crucial backing has been secured. — AFP

Agreement on DRS after Hot Spot is made mandatory

The DRS has been made mandatory in all international games© Getty Images

The ICC's chief executives' committee has unanimously agreed to make a modified version of the Decision Review System (DRS) mandatory in all Tests and one-day internationals. The mandatory terms and conditions for the DRS that have now been recommended to the Executive Board for approval on Tuesday will now consist of infra-red cameras and audio-tracking devices with the "ball-tracker" having been removed from the ICC's original compulsory list of DRS technologies.

This means that India will, for the first time since 2008, be agreeable to using the DRS in a bilateral series when it tours England from July onwards.

However the DRS used in the England-India series will be without the aid of ball-tracking technology, which means line decisions for lbw appeals cannot be referred. For example, if the ball pitches outside leg stump and the batsman is given out lbw, the batsman can appeal against the verdict but the third umpire will not have the benefit of the ball-tracking technology to ascertain where the ball pitched. On the other hand, if a batsman is given out lbw and he thinks there is an inside-edge involved, the Hot Spot will resolve whether there was an edge or not.

While Hot Spot is the only infrared, thermal imaging camera available on cricket, audio tracking, an ICC official confirmed, referred to the high quality 'clean and real time" replays from the stump microphones, not the Snicko.

The committee, which also approved the Cricket Committee's recommendation to reduce the number of unsuccessful reviews in ODIs from two to one, decided that the continued use of the ball-tracking technology as a decision-making aid will depend on the bilateral arrangement between the participating teams. Further independent and expert research will be carried out into ball-tracking technology and its accuracy and reliability

A decision about how the cost of using the DRS technology would be divided will be taken later. Last week, BCCI vice-president Niranjan Shah had said that the cost of using the DRS was as high as $60,000 per match. According to the ICC, however, that figure is close to $5000 per day, with a maximum of $25,000 being spent on DRS per Test. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Consistency the key to DRS - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar: "I am not against DRS, but I feel it will be more effective with the support of the Snickometer and Hot Spot technology" © Getty Images

The BCCI's refusal to accept the Decision Review System (DRS) for the forthcoming tour of England is a clear indication that India's stand on the subject has not moved from its team's initial reaction to the referral system in the 2008 series versus Sri Lanka. The system may now have been widely accepted around the world and the technology improved, yet the BCCI has not had any formal meetings with the Indian cricketers about their responses to the DRS in ICC events since their 2008 experience.

Sachin Tendulkar's name is often taken as one of the two Indian players (captain MS Dhoni the other) who is resistant to the referral system and therefore tacitly responsible for the BCCI's continuous refusal of the DRS.

On Thursday, Tendulkar reiterated to ESPNcricinfo that he was not against the use of the technology, "I am not against DRS, but I feel it will be more effective with the support of the Snickometer and Hot Spot technology. This will give more consistent results."

BCCI president Shashank Manohar said to ESPNcricinfo, "I have even told the ICC that we have no problem with Hot Spot. Our objection is to ball tracking.... it becomes just a case of someone else's imagination versus the umpire's imagination."

In the case of the England series, the availability of Hot Spot as part of the DRS was ignored when the BCCI decided to turn down the referral system. Hot Spot's thermal imaging cameras provide an extra layer of information about the point of impact to third umpires that may be able to make up for any possible inaccuracies of the predictor path.

Tendulkar says the merging of all available technology would come closest to 100% accuracy as possible and be of the best use in the DRS. His opinion comes close to that of both Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid who expressed support of the referral system, despite the Sri Lanka experience and early technological errors.

In the World Cup, however, Dhoni had called the DRS, the "adulteration" of technology and human decision-making.

More than one player on the Indian team has said in private that the DRS had often benefitted them and the team during the World Cup. Despite having Sehwag two referrals going against him in the semi-finals and the final, he said to a television reporter he still supported the system as it had given him the opportunity to ask for reviews of decisions he doubted."

Yet the DRS and its use depends not on player opinion, but official approval. BCCI officials were due to travel to Australia late last year during the Ashes to study the Virtual Eye technology being used by the official broadcasters Channel 9, but the trip was cancelled. Manohar said a presentation made by the Hawk-Eye to the BCCI in Chennai at the time did not convince the officials of the accuracy of the technology either.

As the BCCI remains adamant about the DRS, its technological base keeps improving. The first pictures of a system called Hot Track were tried out during the Ashes which merged Virtual Eye and Hot Spot, and use the Hot Spot point of impact to give extra information to the predictor path. BBG Sports, the owners of the Hot Spot, now own two new cameras that are being set up to be faster, offering more frames per second, greater clarity and greater flexibility.

Neither Hot Spot nor the Snicko, is part of the ICC's list of minimum technology requirements for the DRS. The question of whether there will be changes in the referral requirements or if the DRS should be made mandatory across all series, however, is dependent once again on the ICC's annual meeting in Hong Kong at the end of this month. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Sanga slams ICC for changing 2.5 metre rule during World Cup

A supporter of using UDRS in international cricket, Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara today slammed the ICC for "chopping and changing" the 2.5 metre rule in LBW decisions in the middle of the World Cup.

The ICC yesterday issued fresh guidelines to match officials that even though the distance between the stumps and the point of impact is 2.5 metre or greater, on-field umpires can reverse not out LBW decisions even if the ball is hitting a part of middle stump.

According to the previous rule, the leg-before could be reversed by the on-field umpire in such cases only if the ball was hitting the centre of the middle stump. The fresh guidelines were issued after the on-field umpires applied the 2.5 metre rule in LBW decisions differently in the ongoing World Cup.

While the umpire in the India-England match refused to change his not out decision of Ian Bell, his counterpart in the India-Ireland match altered his not out decision against an Irish batsman. Sangakkara said his side would have liked more consistency from the world governing body and not a change in rules in the midst of a tournament. "I think the ICC has got to be careful not to make rules seem confusing for human use. Chopping and changing during a tournament is going to add to the confusion," he said.

"The best the ICC could have done was make sure that the technology was set before the World Cup, rules and parameters are set before the tournament. "We would have liked a lot more consistency so that everyone understands the rules better," he told 'Times Now' channel. —Courtesy Times Now

Dhoni rages against the machine

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit out at the controversial Umpire Decision Review System (URDS) after a key decision went against his side in their dramatic World Cup tie with England.

In pic: MS Dhoni calls for a referral when Ian Bell was struck on the pads by Yuvraj Singh © Getty Images

England, replying to India's 338 all out after Sachin Tendulkar's record-breaking fifth hundred in World Cup cricket, finished on 338 for eight following a magnificent career-best 158 from captain Andrew Strauss.

Left-handed opener Strauss shared a vital third-wicket partnership of 170 with Ian Bell (69).

But their stand was worth just 52 when left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh thought he had Bell lbw on review for 17, with replays showing the ball would have hit the stumps.

Bell had started to walk off but because New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden's verdict was not out, the decision was returned to him by Australian replay official Rod Tucker and the Kiwi deemed Bell to be too far down the pitch.

However, a capacity crowd of mainly passionate India fans were left bemused having seen Bell 'dismissed' on the Chinnaswamy Stadium's giant replay screens.

Bell himself clearly thought he was out, walking off the pitch before his clearly unexpected reprieve and Dhoni too couldn't understand why he was allowed to continue his innings.

India have stood alone amongst major nations in refusing to use UDRS in Tests after getting on the wrong side of the system during a series away to Sri Lanka in 2008 where several reviews went against them.

"The adulteration of technology with human thinking meant we didn't get that (Bell) wicket," said Dhoni.

He was unhappy with the instruction to umpires at this World Cup that says if a batsman is more than 2.5 metres down the pitch he should be given not out, unless the ball would have hit middle stump.

It was not certain if Bell's middle stump would have been knocked over but Dhoni said: "If Hawkeye says it's good and going to hit middle stump, I see no reason why the distance matters.

"Simon (Taufel) once gave me out (like that) in the Champions Trophy. If I can be given out, why not any other batsman? It is pretty difficult for me, what I saw was ball hitting the stumps."

Dhoni praised left-arm quick Zaheer Khan for a burst of three wickets for one run in six balls, including two in two to get rid of Bell and Strauss, that swung the match back India's way when England were on course for victory.

"Well you know the way they were going, I think they got off to a very good start, I think Andrew (Strauss) batted really well. There was a time I think where it seemed they were going to chase the score in 48, 49 overs," he said.

He added: "We could not win the match, but England too could not finish the game, both teams were facing defeat or victory at some point."

England needed 14 off the last over, from seamer Munaf Patel, but managed just 13 despite a third ball six from tailender Ajmal Shahzad.

But Dhoni said it was India's fielding, long their Achilles heel, that had cost them a second victory of this tournament to set alongside their 87-run opening win over fellow co-hosts Bangladesh.

"We could have fielded better. With this tie, everyone in the team will realise that even one run is important," said the captain. -AFP

India rules out using review system

The Indian board has categorically ruled out the possibility of India using the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) for the foreseeable future, saying they just don't trust the technology.

"We don't accept this technology. We are not going to use it in any bilateral series," the BCCI's secretary and president-elect, N Srinivasan, told Reuters. "They were supposed to take us to see its use in the Ashes series but I did not go. We have made our presentation to the ICC, saying we are just not convinced about the technology."

When asked if the cost of the technology was an impediment, Srinivasan said, "That's another issue but we have got serious doubts about its accuracy."

India's insistence on avoiding the UDRS is at odds with the trend elsewhere in the cricket world; the technology will also be used in the upcoming World Cup on the subcontinent. "Well, the World Cup is an ICC event and if the ICC decide to use it, they obviously can," Srinivasan said.

India has refused to use the UDRS in any of their bilateral series since becoming the first team to use the technology in 2008. They struggled with their referrals on that tour, getting only one review right, while Sri Lanka successfully challenged 11 decisions. The country's stand has frustrated some of the other teams, who have called on the ICC to step in and ensure that the system is used uniformly throughout the game.

"The ICC needs to take responsibility and lead the way when it comes to the review system," Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain said after losing the Durban test against India during which a couple of decisions went against his team. Cricket South Africa had pushed hard for the system prior to the three-Test series between the two sides, but the BCCI did not budge.

Michael Clarke, who is captaining Australia in the fifth and final Ashes Test in Ricky Ponting's absence, echoed Smith's comments, saying, " I think it should be 100% used or not used at all."-ESPNcricinfo