ICC planning to have third umpires explain decisions directly to match crowds

Sydney: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is reportedly planning to have its third umpires publicly explain their decisions to crowds and television viewers, similar to Australia`s rugby league.

The game`s governing body, with the support of the Cricket Australia (CA) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), is trialling the new technology, the real-time Snickometer, in the decision review system (DRS) for the Ashes series this winter. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, seeking to fine-tune the often-criticised referral policy, the ICC is looking at decreasing confusion in umpires` decisions by having the umpires explain them directly to spectators. Stating that getting the message across to crowds has not worked so far, ICC general manager of cricket Geoff Allardice said that although they would not be applying the new move in the Ashes series, he believes one of the medium-term goals is to try and get the umpires and players communicating in a more disciplined language. According to Allardice, it is impressive that rugby has already the system of making the umpires communicate directly with the crowds, adding that in time, the ICC will also be doing that and would start with some of the better third umpires. Allardice also said that the automated split-screen display that the new Snicko would add to the DRS would complement the existing technology for the detection of edges, Hot Spot. The report mentioned that the Snicko graphic is formed from three super slow-motion cameras, which are synchronised and go into a recording device with the results of the venue`s two stumps microphones. The front-on, side-on and view from behind the stumps are overlaid, creating a visual that can determine more precisely at what point a noise originated from, and when the ball passed the bat, the report added.