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July 28, 1997
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The Cricket Interview/John Reid
'If the players were gentlemen in the real sense of the word, then why would we need match referees?'
John Richard Reid -- 'Bogo' to his pals -- ranks as the second best all-rounder New Zealand has produced, second only to Richard Hadlee. And his value to the side, and his pre-eminent position therein, is underlined by the fact that he played a record 58 consecutive Tests for his country.
A hard-hitting right hand batsman who revelled in the drive, cut and hook, Reid constantly found himself hitting his side out of the trouble the earlier order batsmen had landed them in. And besides his contributions with the bat, he was also a useful medium fast outswing/off-cutter merchant with an ability to keep a very good length. An outstanding fielder, Reid could also wear the gloves with competence, so the Kiwi selectors rarely if ever picked a reserve 'keeper for their touring squads.
At one time, he in fact held the New Zealand records for most runs, most wickets, most centuries, most catches, most Tests played and most appearances as captain -- which speaks volumes for the man's all round abilities.
In 58 Tests, Reid scored 3,428 runs at 33.28 including 6 centuries; took 85 wickets at 33.35; held 43 catches and even has one stumping to his credit.
Awarded an OBE for his contribution to the game, Reid on his retirement went to South Africa and coached Northern Transvaal for a while, before returning to his country to semi-retirement, alternating between fishing and touring the world as ICC match referee -- his latest outing in this role being the just concluded Asia Cup quadrangular in Sri Lanka.
As match referee, Reid, now 69, gets mixed reviews -- the establishment is happy with his tough, no-nonsense image while some players tend to think him a shade too much of a 'school headmaster' type. In the event, both praise and condemnation leaves Reid cold -- he says his thing is to go out there and call it as he sees it. A fluent conversationalist, he discussed matters cricketing at length in an exclusive interview
with Haresh Pandya:
How did you come to be on the ICC panel of match referees?
You first have to be nominated by your board, which I was. And from that, the ICC appointment followed. If you notice, most of the match referees
on the panel are ex-captains with lots of experience. They are used to handling teams, used to keeping a watch on goings on in the dressing room, also used to people keeping tabs of what they say. And presumably, you have earned some respect at the international level, that is very necessary.
How do you view your stint as match referee, the way you have functioned thus far?
I'm a tough old fellow! But I am fair. I try and spell it out right at the outset,
so that both teams and even the umpires know precisely where they stand
before the match starts. And I am consistent, I am thorough, and I always mean what I say.
Do you regard cricket as a 'gentlemen's game'?
If it was, if the players were gentlemen in the real sense of the word, then why would we need match referees? No, the point is that part of the match referee's role is actually to rejuvenate or reinstate the spirit of the game.
Cricket deteriorated in spirit in the seventies and eighties -- deteriorated
to such an extent that the umpires out there were having a hard time controlling things. And one or two cricket commentators, who in their playing days were the ones who started all this, started expressing serious doubts
about cricket being ever a gentlemen's game. There was a lot of
sledging happening -- the Australians were doing it, the West Indies were doing it, and everyone was having a go at the umpires. So you needed to control
them, and that is how the match referee evolved. Now we have six really tough match referees on the panel, and I think they -- we --
are bringing the game back under control.
But aren't the rules tough enough to allow the umpires out there in the middle to control the game themselves?
Sure, the rules are there, but the umpires don't do it, and all those ugly things are happening out there despite their presence. Bouncers are there and so are beamers -- and
Law 42 (8) about fair play is also there, the umpires just don't enforce them, is all, they need backing up.
What has happened
to the umpires over the years is the fact that the boards haven't
backed them up. The umpires put everything in their reports, but
nothing comes of it. In fact, most times, the tougher umpires don't get reappointed. If you are a
tough umpire and you have some harsh things to say in a report
about players, you find you are not appointed again. So then the umpires naturally err on the side of caution -- and that is why they need an independent judge who can come down hard and make all
those tough decisions.
Does the match referee's authority extend over the umpires as well?
No, it doesn't. He is there to assist the umpires, who are in charge of the match. The match referee is there to control the situation if the umpires fail to do that, we have those powers. But I expect the umpires to handle sledging, confrontation on field, things like that. Look, if they can't, I will, alright? But they are the ones in charge of the game, and I simply assist them, help them out, support them. But no, I cannot change decisions they make on the field of play -- I can only report on them afterwards.
Umpires are supposed to be unbiased. Now suppose you think a particular umpire is biased towards a team or player, what do you do? And arising from that, don't you think that umpires also need some checks, to ensure they do their job honestly?
Frankly, I have absolutely no control over them. I haven't seen anybody who is particularly biased these days, I mean, you have got an international umpire and a local one in the
Tests. And all umpires are on the ICC panel. No, I haven't seen bias -- sure, they make mistakes, but that is understandable. I don't think it is the role of the match referee to do anything about that, to reverse decisions, during the match. He can, and does, report to the ICC, and his reports go on the computer. And an umpire who gets consistently bad reports runs the risk of not getting appointed again.
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