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Steve Waugh slams third umpire

Australian captain Steve Waugh today asked the International Cricket Council to take action over the poor quality of television replay film available to the third umpire, and the consequent number of mistakes that have crept into that official's adjudication.

The immediate provocation was the second Test against the West Indies at Sabina Park, in course of which Waugh was given out caught by Windies keeper Ridley Jacobs low down on the leg side.

Umpires Peter Willey and Steve Bucknor consulted among themselves and then called in the third umpire -- who ruled Waugh out.

The decision was good, though the video replay did make the viewer believe that the best angle had not been provided. Waugh said that the evidence was not positive, and said this was the sixth instance he had seen in the last half-dozen Tests.

''Surely, there has to be a better way than this of judging decisions,'' Waugh said.

Match referee Raman Subba Row, concurring with the view that the video replay was not one hundred per cent foolproof, said that he would include the incident in his report to the ICC. Row added that the issue had in fact been raised before, without much response from the global governing body.

Curiously enough, the same week produced a similar controversy elsewhere. In Hamilton, during the second Test between New Zealand and South Africa, third umpire Brent Bowden ruled opening batsman Gary Kirsten not out, after he edged a delivery from Simon Doull to Chris Harris at first slip. Harris couldn't make the catch, but he managed to knock the ball up in the air. Bryan Young at second slip dived and held clean. Kirsten, batting 11 at the time, did not walk. Bowden, after viewing some replays of dubious quality, gave him the benefit of the doubt.

The incident soured relations between the two sides -- to such an extent, in fact, that Doull and others abused Kirsten after the latter was finally dismissed, and the Kiwi players also gave the other South African batsmen much lip, leading to a warning from the match referee.

Agencies