No Umpire Review System for Indo-Lanka Test series

The Chief Executives’ Committee and the ICC Board had decided on June 24 in London to accept the recommendations of the ICC Cricket Committee, which had on May 12 suggested a phased roll-out of the UDRS from October 2009.

The London meetings had taken the recommendation one step further by stating that the ‘Umpire Decision Review System should be rolled out in Test cricket from October 2009’, thereby making it all but mandatory for Test matches from October this year to have the referral system in place.

The UDRS was first trialled during India’s Test tour of Sri Lanka last year, when almost every Sri Lankan challenge bore fruit while a majority of the Indian challenges came to nought.

At that point, each team was allowed three unsuccessful challenges per innings. Consequently, to cut down on frivolous challenges and to prevent unnecessary delays, the number of unsuccessful challenges permitted was reduced to two.

Parmar twist

Meanwhile, adding a new twist to the ongoing suspect action drama in domestic cricket, Gujarat included off-spinner Monish Parmar in their eleven for their Ranji Trophy tie against Tamil Nadu which began in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

Parmar, already been called once this season during an under-22 game, was recently tested at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and video analysis showed an approximate degree of elbow extension to the tune of 19 degrees, well above the permissible limit of 15 degrees.

Through a directive, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it clear that bowlers beyond ‘15 degrees are proven chuckers as their actions could not be rectified during rehabilitation’.

Already forced to leave out paceman Amit Singh for similar reasons, Gujarat run the risk of being at least one specialist bowler short if the on-field umpires call Parmar for ‘chucking’. Further, by fielding him less than a week after his test at the NCA, they might also be risking the young man’s immediate, if not complete, future.

With a view to eliminating the vexed issue of ‘chucking’ which has come to hold sway in domestic cricket, the BCCI has set new guidelines, including allowing on-field umpires to call bowlers for throwing during play.

Several bowlers were called during the first set of Ranji matches last week, including the Baroda duo of Salim Veragi and experienced left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar.