The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday admitted a "difference of opinion" with the Indian board on the controversial Umpire Decision Review System but denied it has soured their relationship. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remains a steadfast opponent of the UDRS system, which made its World Cup debut in the sub-continent.
Infuriated by Ian Bell's apparent let-off for lbw in the tied India v England match, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan wrote an angry letter to ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat on Wednesday, saying the incident exposed the inadequacy of the system. Lorgat, however, denied the governing body has fallen out with the world's richest, and most influential, cricket board.
"Not at all," Lorgat told reporters in Chennai. "We share an excellent relationship with the BCCI. We have to accept that there will be difference of opinions from time to time but we are mature enough to work through those," Lorgat said. The ICC official said he was "disappointed" by the BCCI letter of complaint, much of which was based on an "inaccurate" report.
The UDRS allows each team the right to question at least two decisions which go against it during an innings. A "third umpire" uses the technology to determine if the on-field officials were correct. Lorgat conceded the UDRS was not foolproof. "My understanding is that it's a work in progress. We would continually work with the technology providers to try and improve it all the time.
"We are aware that there is limited availability of Hot Spot (cameras which provide a reliable image of the ball's contact with bat or pad). "In spite of its absence, we have got something like a five percent improvement in correct decision-making. I believe one cannot ignore that."
Bell was caught on his pads with a ball which the technology predicted would have hit the wicket but was reprieved by a rule which refers the decision back to the on field umpire if the player is more than 2.5 metres from the stumps. Defending the 2015 World Cup format that virtually slams the door on the associate, non-test playing teams, Lorgat said the governing body was contemplating a qualification process but insisted it would be a 10-team tournament.
"It's about the balance we are trying to achieve between excellent competition and development of the game. We are blessed with three formats. We believe Twenty20 is the one we can use primarily to develop the game and hence we expanded that competition to 16 teams," Lorgat said. "We think that if qualification was to be a route through to the World Cup, that would make a far better World Cup from a competitive point of view.
"We have got 10 full-members playing test cricket but we are heading towards a playoff of the top four. "So if you look at the totality, test cricket would engage the best four in a playoff, in 50-overs cricket the 10 best teams would be going into the World Cup and 16 best teams would play in Twenty20 (World Cup)." The Champions Trophy's fate also looked doubtful as Lorgat said the governing body wanted a "pinnacle event" for each format and may "think differently" about the event in the next cycle.
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