Congratulations to Chris Gayle and John Dyson's West Indies. They have shown that what they did during the Stanford Series and in New Zealand could very well be the start of a revival by sticking it to a poor England in Jamaica.
The entire test made poor watching from Wickman's armchair and particularly because of the referrals. On a couple of occasions Wickman was dancing around, sometimes trying not to spill a pint, other times in a complicated two step with Wickmutt, when wickets fell, only for them to be referred. When the referrals went our way (Chanderpaul for example) the moment didn't seem as fine when the finger went up again. Certainly Wickmutt was not up for another trip around the dancefloor even when he was offerred a Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrumba! When they didn't there was a general feeling of bemusement in the Wickman brain.
The commentators kept on saying "The TV umpire is only looking to see if an obvious mistake has been made - the players (and by implication those of us not good enough to be there fulfilling a playing function) need to understand that". So - Detective Supt Wickman presents two cases for M'luds to inspect:
Rammy S on 7, first innings, pinned in front by Harmison. Given out by Hill. Referred. Not out as Harper thought it "might be going over". Hang on a cotton picking second. Might be going over? MIGHT be going over? Where the obvious mistake? If it was, in his judgement, going to miss by a country mile, then absolutely it shouldn't have been given. But "might"? The very technology they were using then showed that the ball would have certainly taken out the leg bail and probably hit middle and leg. Hill made a good decision and Harper overruled him.
In England's collapse, Siders asked for his LBW to be reviewed. And fair enough. The ball spun a mile across him and he had every right to think it was going to miss leg stump. As Harper lined up the pics, Wickman was thinking "on the basis that you didn't give out old Rammy, you can hardly send Siders back to the hutch". But blow Wickers if he didn't trigger him with the commentators a chatterin and a harrumphin that all the players know that only catastrophic mistakes can be overturned.
Hang on. Hawk Eye showed that the ball would have shaved the stumps like a Wilkinson Sword 237 blade razor (they'll be one along soon - just you wait and see) but 99.9 per cent of the ball was missing everything. One of the commentators (not an Englishman) was delightedly opining, when he saw this shaving occur, that that justified the decision! Well matey, Wickman didn't hear anyone moaning at Harper when the bails came off on the Sarwan shout! Quite the opposite. Some crud about "you can't give those out".
Wickman reckons the key problem with the Sarwan decision was where the ball went the millisecond after it had struck Rammy's pad. It hit him flush on the top sausage on his knee role and then rolled up an inch into the flappy bit on top. Thus the point of impact was the sausagey bit, not the rest of the pad flap. But the commentators (maybe Harper as well) made their decision on the basis of where they thought the impact was, not where it was.
With full Hawk Eye tracking, hotspot, stump mics and the rest these decisions would be more accurate surely? The very technology that Harper is being allowed to use and manipulate leaves him in one moment thinking there's an element of doubt on Sarwan (Wickman thought it was supposed to be a major error not a bit of doubt) and the next it confirmed (when the blue extension bit was added in) that he got it wrong.
Totally inconsistent and utimately confusing.
Either go for it big time and and use everything at your disposal to give the decision or go back to the way things were when we were allowed to bemoan poor fortune.
[Wickman likes to think that this picture shows Steve "ahm jist a wee laddie froom tha coontry reahly ahnd I divvent ahlways embarrass meself when ah play for England like" Harmison letting loose one of his many Durham based animals at Harper in rertribution for bizarrely overruling the Sarwan lbw. But it's probably not...]
Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club * 1863 - 2013 * 150 Glorious Seasons
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
A Moment for Reflection
Congratulations to Chris Gayle and John Dyson's West Indies. They have shown that what they did during the Stanford Series and in New Zealand could very well be the start of a revival by sticking it to a poor England in Jamaica.
The entire test made poor watching from Wickman's armchair and particularly because of the referrals. On a couple of occasions Wickman was dancing around, sometimes trying not to spill a pint, other times in a complicated two step with Wickmutt, when wickets fell, only for them to be referred. When the referrals went our way (Chanderpaul for example) the moment didn't seem as fine when the finger went up again. Certainly Wickmutt was not up for another trip around the dancefloor even when he was offerred a Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrumba! When they didn't there was a general feeling of bemusement in the Wickman brain.
The commentators kept on saying "The TV umpire is only looking to see if an obvious mistake has been made - the players (and by implication those of us not good enough to be there fulfilling a playing function) need to understand that". So - Detective Supt Wickman presents two cases for M'luds to inspect:
Rammy S on 7, first innings, pinned in front by Harmison. Given out by Hill. Referred. Not out as Harper thought it "might be going over". Hang on a cotton picking second. Might be going over? MIGHT be going over? Where the obvious mistake? If it was, in his judgement, going to miss by a country mile, then absolutely it shouldn't have been given. But "might"? The very technology they were using then showed that the ball would have certainly taken out the leg bail and probably hit middle and leg. Hill made a good decision and Harper overruled him.
In England's collapse, Siders asked for his LBW to be reviewed. And fair enough. The ball spun a mile across him and he had every right to think it was going to miss leg stump. As Harper lined up the pics, Wickman was thinking "on the basis that you didn't give out old Rammy, you can hardly send Siders back to the hutch". But blow Wickers if he didn't trigger him with the commentators a chatterin and a harrumphin that all the players know that only catastrophic mistakes can be overturned.
Hang on. Hawk Eye showed that the ball would have shaved the stumps like a Wilkinson Sword 237 blade razor (they'll be one along soon - just you wait and see) but 99.9 per cent of the ball was missing everything. One of the commentators (not an Englishman) was delightedly opining, when he saw this shaving occur, that that justified the decision! Well matey, Wickman didn't hear anyone moaning at Harper when the bails came off on the Sarwan shout! Quite the opposite. Some crud about "you can't give those out".
Wickman reckons the key problem with the Sarwan decision was where the ball went the millisecond after it had struck Rammy's pad. It hit him flush on the top sausage on his knee role and then rolled up an inch into the flappy bit on top. Thus the point of impact was the sausagey bit, not the rest of the pad flap. But the commentators (maybe Harper as well) made their decision on the basis of where they thought the impact was, not where it was.
With full Hawk Eye tracking, hotspot, stump mics and the rest these decisions would be more accurate surely? The very technology that Harper is being allowed to use and manipulate leaves him in one moment thinking there's an element of doubt on Sarwan (Wickman thought it was supposed to be a major error not a bit of doubt) and the next it confirmed (when the blue extension bit was added in) that he got it wrong.
Totally inconsistent and utimately confusing.
Either go for it big time and and use everything at your disposal to give the decision or go back to the way things were when we were allowed to bemoan poor fortune.
[Wickman likes to think that this picture shows Steve "ahm jist a wee laddie froom tha coontry reahly ahnd I divvent ahlways embarrass meself when ah play for England like" Harmison letting loose one of his many Durham based animals at Harper in rertribution for bizarrely overruling the Sarwan lbw. But it's probably not...]
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