The International Cricket Council (ICC) will put the system on trial at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan later this year, under which a team will have the right to make three appeals to the third umpire if they have doubts over a decision made by on-field officials.
Pitching in for the use of technology to reduce errors, Miandad said umpires were now more prone to go wrong as they made their decisions in a hurry. “With the number of mistakes increasing, I think this referral system is good for the game because one bad decision can turn a defeat into a win or vice versa for any team,” Miandad said.
“Any law that can reduce the instances of poor umpiring decisions and can make the game cleaner should be tried. I also feel the ICC needs to make umpires more accountable in some way.”
Zaheer Abbas also backed the referral system, saying that “batsmen also needed a slice of luck like the bowlers.”
Former Test wicketkeeper Rashid Latif said the ICC needed to do a lot more to ensure umpires performed consistently. “It is easy to say that umpires are human beings and can commit mistakes, but one mistake can deprive a team of victory or turn a victory into defeat. One poor decision can have a big bearing on the outcome of a match like we saw in Sydney,” Latif said.
Intikhab Alam, another former Pakistan captain, said umpires should not feel slighted on seeking technological assistance. “The Elite panel is made up of a few umpires who are travelling around the world throughout the year. They are cracking under pressure making mistakes like we saw in Sydney.
“Umpires need to earn the respect of players by being receptive to new ideas.”