The new set of rules has been imposed and now the umpires have gotten the authority to send a player off for serious breaches of behaviour.
The rules have been implemented from the ongoing Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi.
A seasoned former Pakistan umpire Mahboob Shah has said that such regulations were aimed at implementing the ‘spirit of cricket’ notion with it’s true intent.
“Ever since the inception in the 18th century, cricket has been a game of gentlemen. Although there were no set of rules but even then the spirit of the game was being adhered to”, he said.
On umpire’s power to send a player off, Mahboob Shah said a player will not be expelled at once but gradually if he/she repeatedly crosses limits of decency.
“I hope this authority will in still more confidence in umpires to handle disciplinary issues efficiently”, said Mahboob Shah, who attended a number of ICC moots, on innovations and the use of technology, in umpiring, in the early 90s.
“I have been in favour of the use of modern technology in umpiring to make the game as fair as possible. Even in the early 90s, I was pretty vocal on this issue in ICC meetings”, Shah recalled.
He umpired 28 Test matches and 32 ODIs between 1975 and 1997.
Recalling Mark Boucher’s tragedy, he also hailed the use of thread with bails to prevent wicketkeepers from potential injuries.
On the law to penalise, a bowler on a deliberate front-foot no-ball, he confidently stated that an umpire can judge a deliberate over-stepping.
“A bowler’s run-up is measured in such a fashion that he/she hardly oversteps and if a foot crosses the crease, it is mostly marginal. That’s how bowlers operate hence detecting a significant front-foot no-ball is not a problem”, opined Mahboob Shah.0
Another big name in the history of cricket umpires, Dickie Bird echoed the same sentiments.
Talking to this correspondent from his Yorkshire residence, the former English umpire said like other fields, the game of cricket is also embracing modern technologies.
“No harm in getting assisted by technology in cricket. I will only make the game more fair and square”, Dickie Bird said
Bird, 84, umpired 66 Tests and 69 ODIs between 1973 and 1996.
“Empowering the umpires, to curtail inappropriate on-field behaviors, is also a good step. It will only safeguard the integrity of the sport”, Bird concluded.