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| April 20, 2007 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 02, 1428 |
‘Wired-up umpires is money well spent’
BRIDGETOWN, April 19: Having umpires wired-up to new technology at the World Cup to improve decision-making is money well spent, according to world cricket's leading official Simon Taufel.
At the Super Eight stages of the World Cup, umpires have been able to listen into the stump microphones for thin edges that may not easily be detectable in windy stadia or because of crowd noise.
“I regard it as money well spent by the ICC. I would like to see it continue and especially in series like India against Pakistan which have huge intensity and noise around the grounds,” said 35-year-old Taufel.
The ICC, which used the innovation for the first time in the 2004 Champions Trophy in England, hoped the new facility will add to an already impressive correct decision making percentage of around 94 percent among elite umpires.
The tall Australian, who won the ICC's best umpires' award for the last three consecutive years, said the innovation can serve more than one purpose.
“There is a dual nature to the technology and the assistance it gives to the umpires. There is the functionality that allows us to hear bat on ball in noisy environments but, in addition to that, it provides digital communications between match officials.”
The ICC said that the experiment of wiring the umpires could be used in future bilateral series, where feasible.—AFP
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