<p>After Alex Cusack had been finally ruled out leg before at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Sunday – Rod Tucker overturned his original decision of not out even though the batsman was a good three metres down the track, as opposed to a week back when Ian Bell was ruled not out and reprieved on review too by Billy Bowden under similar circumstances – enough doubts had arisen over what the exact yardstick was that was being followed in such instances.<br /><br />An ICC spokesman had confirmed on Sunday evening that there had been a ‘change in protocol’ with regard to the 2.5M rule. On Monday, the ICC’s General Manager (Cricket), Dave Richardson, said a decision had been made between the umpires and match referees for a consistent interpretation, while insisting that there had been no change in the system when a batsman is struck more than 2.5 metres from the stumps.<br /><br />It may be recalled that the Board of Control for Cricket in India had shot off an angry letter to the ICC in the immediacy of the Bell decision against Yuvraj Singh on February 27. It is not unknown if the ‘consistent interpretation’ is a fall-out of BCCI secretary N <br />Srinivasan’s missive to ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.<br /><br />Richardson said through a press release that when a batsman was adjudged not out, graphics are displayed when the distance from pitching to impact is less than 40cm, and the distance from impact to stumps is greater than 2.5m.<br /><br />The umpires have been told that if both the 40cm and the 2.5m graphics appear – that is, the ball has travelled 40 cm from pitching to hitting the pad, and has a further 2.5 metres or more to travel before hitting the stumps -- then the not out decision would stand.<br /><br />If the distance to stumps from point of impact is more than 2.5 metres but that between pitching and hitting the pad is less than 40cm, the Hawk-Eye technology will come into play. If the distance between impact and the stumps is more than 3.5 metres, the batsman will remain not out.<br /><br />If the distance is between 2.5 and 3.5 metres, if some part of the ball is hitting the middle stump and the whole of the ball is hitting the stump below the bottom of the bails, the on-field umpire will overturn his not out call.<br /><br />The former South African stumper added that with the DRS being used at the World Cup, the correct decisions have apparently risen from 90.18 percent to 97.82 percent. <br /><br />Whether that suggests on-field umpires have got more decisions right, however, is another matter altogether. “What it is demonstrating clearly is that the DRS is helping umpires who are maintaining consistently high levels of performance,” Richardson maintained in the release.</p>
<p>After Alex Cusack had been finally ruled out leg before at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Sunday – Rod Tucker overturned his original decision of not out even though the batsman was a good three metres down the track, as opposed to a week back when Ian Bell was ruled not out and reprieved on review too by Billy Bowden under similar circumstances – enough doubts had arisen over what the exact yardstick was that was being followed in such instances.<br /><br />An ICC spokesman had confirmed on Sunday evening that there had been a ‘change in protocol’ with regard to the 2.5M rule. On Monday, the ICC’s General Manager (Cricket), Dave Richardson, said a decision had been made between the umpires and match referees for a consistent interpretation, while insisting that there had been no change in the system when a batsman is struck more than 2.5 metres from the stumps.<br /><br />It may be recalled that the Board of Control for Cricket in India had shot off an angry letter to the ICC in the immediacy of the Bell decision against Yuvraj Singh on February 27. It is not unknown if the ‘consistent interpretation’ is a fall-out of BCCI secretary N <br />Srinivasan’s missive to ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.<br /><br />Richardson said through a press release that when a batsman was adjudged not out, graphics are displayed when the distance from pitching to impact is less than 40cm, and the distance from impact to stumps is greater than 2.5m.<br /><br />The umpires have been told that if both the 40cm and the 2.5m graphics appear – that is, the ball has travelled 40 cm from pitching to hitting the pad, and has a further 2.5 metres or more to travel before hitting the stumps -- then the not out decision would stand.<br /><br />If the distance to stumps from point of impact is more than 2.5 metres but that between pitching and hitting the pad is less than 40cm, the Hawk-Eye technology will come into play. If the distance between impact and the stumps is more than 3.5 metres, the batsman will remain not out.<br /><br />If the distance is between 2.5 and 3.5 metres, if some part of the ball is hitting the middle stump and the whole of the ball is hitting the stump below the bottom of the bails, the on-field umpire will overturn his not out call.<br /><br />The former South African stumper added that with the DRS being used at the World Cup, the correct decisions have apparently risen from 90.18 percent to 97.82 percent. <br /><br />Whether that suggests on-field umpires have got more decisions right, however, is another matter altogether. “What it is demonstrating clearly is that the DRS is helping umpires who are maintaining consistently high levels of performance,” Richardson maintained in the release.</p>
