ICC should get rid of umpires calls and soft signals and let the 3rd
umpire make the final ruling, because on field umpires DON'T have the
LUXURY of watching the replays in slow motion and making the decisions.

This will get rid of at least "SOME" of the controversial decisions.

3rd umpire MIGHT still make a mistake or two based on his individual
perception, reflexes and knowledge combo though but still it will be an
IMPROVEMENT over status quo.

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Why technology can’t solve cricket’s low-catches issue: Pretty
expensive, handful of boards with resources, lack of foolproof evidence.

A TV director Hemant Buch explains the various problems that the
broadcasters and cricketing boards face.

https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/why-technology-cant-solve-crickets-low-catches-issue-8381029/

“I don’t really know the answers, but there has to be a way to try and
improve it somehow,” said Australia captain Pat Cummins. This, on the
camera angles at play for third umpires to adjudicate low catches. The
recently concluded Australia-South Africa series had seen multiple close
calls go upstairs followed by decisions that were made without
sufficient proof. With grey area on whether the fielder had caught the
ball cleanly, without it making any contact with the ground or not.

Cummins mulled after the Sydney Test, “I think as it currently stands,
it’s really hard to give a batter out. If there’s any kind of benefit of
the doubt it goes his way. I think with a couple of camera angles really
slow down it’s pretty hard to not find doubt somewhere.”

So, is there a scope for more, better camera angles to come into play?
Can the technology have another upgrade to help the umpire better spot
if there’s a gap between the fingers when the ball is caught? 3D
cameras? Ball sensor technology? Live cricket director and broadcast
consultant, Hemant Buch feels otherwise.

“Cricket runs on a lot of technology as it stands. The technology is
pretty expensive, and not every board can afford to invest in it. This
is why you find different camera specifications in different countries.
Some productions have 3 times the number of cameras others do,” he tells
The Indian Express.

Buch, who has worked in cricket broadcasting for over two decades,
further elaborates on the financial headache for broadcasters and
cricket boards pertaining to tech advancements.

“Traditionally, the cost of technology (while used for decision making
by ICC umpires) has been borne by broadcasters. Sometimes this has been
covered by sponsorship, other times, it has been borne by the
broadcaster in order to improve the quality of production. But again,
very few broadcasters or boards make money out of enhancements, so it
would be tough to do across the cricketing world. Unless of course,
someone such as the ICC bears the cost via a universal sponsor.”

Buch reckons there are a few necessary questions that need to be asked
before thinking of investing in any cricket tech for resolving the
aforementioned.

Does this technology exist? Is it foolproof? If it does, Is it worth
spending vast amounts of money for very few contentious decisions?

Let’s take ball-sensor technology. In March 2020, leading ball
manufacturing company, Kookaburra had introduced ‘SmartBall’, embedded
with a microchip to relay real time data on whether a bat has
definitively nicked a ball, whether the ball has hit the grass on low
catches, and improved tracking for DRS.

“If it boils down to one company manufacturing balls with sensors (as
has been suggested), what happens to other ball manufacturers? What
happens when the ball goes out of shape or its seam splits and you have
to change it? How do you manage to find so many old balls with sensors?”

Buch further adds, “Also, how does it compute the clean catch? If a
blade of grass touches the ball between the fingers, is it a drop? Is it
a catch? Or does it need to be on the ground fully? “I fear it will
create more problems than solve.”

What about three dimensional cameras? An umpire would surely have a
better view of the incident.

“3D cameras could definitely help, but where is the 3D transmission?
Would we spend so much money so that one TV umpire gets a 3D view?
Because none of us will see the coverage in 3D at home. Isn’t that
overkill? And are the costs justified?”

Buch also adds that while thinking of technological advancements, the
variable financial brackets for cricket boards need to be considered.
“Remember, Test cricket is not just played in 4 or 5 nations. Think of
how all full members can justify these costs,” Buch adds.

The hard soft signal issue

Prior to the Australia-South Africa series, there was Pakistan-England.
The dismissal of Saud Shakeel (94 off 213) on day five was seen as a
pivotal moment in the second Test. With Pakistan requiring 45 runs to
win with four wickets in hand, Shakeel looked in good position to help
level the series 1-1. Before he edged a short delivery down the leg
side. A low diving catch to the left from wicketkeeper Ollie Pope. Or
was it?

The on-field umpires went up to the third umpire Joel Wilson. Aleem Dar
had deemed the soft signal as out. The replay displayed Pope’s fingers
not completely under the ball, which seemed close to touching the
ground. “Looks like the gloves are under it…..but I can’t tell exactly,”
Joel Wilson conceded, looking for a better frame to rule out the
possibility of the ball being grounded. With a lack of the same, he’d
declare the take as a clean one.

Backlash followed on why soft signals inspired crucial calls in the
modern game despite the presence of technology, which presented an
equally compelling case in favor of the batter if not more.

As of its last revision in November 2022, Clause 2.2.2 of Appendix D
in ICC’s World Test Championship playing conditions mentions, “If the
third umpire advises that the replay evidence is inconclusive, the
on-field decision communicated at the start of the consultation process
shall stand.”

While the soft signal has been a thorne in low catch adjudication for
cricket, there have been instances of big tournaments doing away with
the same. In March 2021, Virat Kohli would ask, “Why there cannot be a
sort of I don’t know call for the umpire?” The end of that month saw the
IPL governing council opting to part ways with the practice of on field
umpires providing a soft signal to the third umpire ahead of the 14th
season of the league.