The Australian and World XI teams enter the world of the great unknown over the next fortnight as the ancient sport of cricket makes greater use of technology to get tricky decisions right.
The Super Series of three one-dayers — the first starting here on Wednesday — and next week’s six-day Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground will be played under the International Cricket Council’s experimental conditions.
The field umpires will be able to refer all decisions, including LBWs and edged catches, to the television, or or third, umpire.
A super-sub rule newly introduced for one-day internationals, in which a player on each team can be replaced soccer-style at any time during the match, will apply for the one-dayers.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting emerged from an hour-long captains’ meeting on Tuesday with match referee Ranjan Madugalle, saying he expected more hold-ups in the games but was optimistic that the experiment could eventually prove beneficial to cricket’s future.
”I don’t think anyone is going to really know about how this will go,” Ponting told a match-eve press conference.
”It’s being done on a trial basis over the next four games… I’ve just walked out of the match referee’s meeting and it’s certainly going to be different.
”There are a lot of things the umpires are going to be looking at and trialling, but as far as the players are concerned all we can do is play the game the same way and let the umpires and third umpires look after all those decisions.
”There’s going to be more hold-ups in the game, but the whole idea of this is to try and have better decisions made out on the field, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Ponting, who expects his Australian side to be ”ultra competitive” despite ‘ losing the Ashes to England last month, said his main concern was the amount of playing time that could be lost to the third-umpire decisions.
South African Shaun Pollock, skipper of the World XI, was keen to give the trials a fair go by playing the Super Series in the right spirit.
”There is a time where technology needs to be tried and that’s what is going to happen in this series and after this we have a reference point where we can refer back to,” he told his press conference.
”I think it’s important that we take it in that spirit. If there are too many stoppages and hiccups and things don’t seem to be running smoothly then I’m sure they will be put aside.
”But it is the opportunity to try it and if it adds to the game and makes for better decisions without taking away too much of the human element and without stopping the game too much, then I’m all for it.”
Chris Gayle and Makhaya Ntini have been left out of the world team for the opening one-dayer at Docklands Stadium.
So formidable is the World XI that the first nine batsmen in the order have scored Test centuries and England’s Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff may be forced to bat as low as number seven.
Selector Sunil Gavaskar confirmed that Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara will open the batting with India’s Virender Sehwag in the first of three one-dayers here this week.
Ponting said all-rounder James Hopes and late inclusion fast bowler Stuart Clark would be missing, meaning that young leg-spinner Cameron White will get a run after replacing injured Brad Hogg on Monday.
Ponting said Simon Katich will open the batting with wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. Katich gets his promotion up the order after long-time opener Matthew Hayden was dropped. – AFP
