Bangladesh should have the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) by the time of their next home series but the International Cricket Council (ICC) should not be expected to fund it, ICC president David Morgan said on Tuesday.
Bangladesh do not have access to the controversial system during the series against England and were infuriated by several “not out” decisions on the third day of the second test in Dhaka as the match swung out of their grasp.
Had it been in place Bangladesh could have established a first-innings lead and been in a much stronger position going into Wednesday’s fifth day when they will be lucky to escape with a draw.
“I believe that the next home series for them against New Zealand the Bangladesh Board are determined to have the equipment in place. It’s a question of negotiations with their broadcaster,” Morgan told BBC Radio Four.
“I think the broadcasters derive a great deal from the system, it’s magnificent television actually. But cricket is not the richest of sports and we need to invest in grass roots.
“We think the distribution of hot spot equipment around the world is something the broadcasters should share in.”
The UDRS system, which allows players a set number of unsuccessful challenges per innings through a third umpire watching on a video monitor, was approved last June by the ICC but is still not used in all test matches.
‘Ideally it should be available in every single series but how it’s funded is something I would prefer not to discuss because to reveal our negotiating position would be wrong,” Morgan said.
On Tuesday Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s captain, criticised his Board for not having the system in place while coach Jamie Siddons was fined 10% of his match fee after criticising the match umpires for turning down three strong lbw appeals.
Such incidents, Morgan believes, would be avoided if UDRS was in place across the board.
“I believe this system gives players responsibility and I feel certain that player behaviour would improve as a result of it,” he said. — Reuters