Benefit of the doubt or doubting the benefits?

With a Brother-in-Law as a Blackburn Rovers season ticket holder, it was not a good night for the family on Monday, as a late goal from Wigan consigned them to relegation. The 87^th minute goal, was almost clawed off the line by Paul Robinson, the Rovers keeper, and for a moment, I sensed another goal line technology argument about to erupt in our ‘national sport’. In the end, his hand was too weak and the ball slipped over the line. Yet throughout recent weeks, the issue of technology in sport, particularly football, has been hitting the headlines as frequently as Oggy goes through a superstition when batting.

In cricket, assistive technology is something we have now become accustom to. It first started with the TV replay for run outs and stumpings, then came the video help for whether a catch had been taken, and now we have seen the plethora of electronic tools for ascertaining LBW and snicked off decisions.

Obviously, league cricket in Nottinghamshire has not got the resources or necessity to introduce technology (although word has it Rob Naylor is in the market for a second hand JVC Handicam), but can we see its effects in the way our games are now umpired?

When I first started playing, it was rare to see the ‘close call’ run outs given in the fielding sides favour. However, with the technology now in the professional game, we see that when the tight ones are often slowed down, it is that batsman who is often left short of his ground. This is especially the case with direct hits as Athers and Bumble so often tell us ‘when its direct, they’re usually out!’

TV replay's have changed umpires perceptions on run outs

So now in league games, you hear umpires declaring, “he was just out, his bat bounced up as he slid in” or “it was only a centimetre or two but it was the direct hit you see”. Yet I find myself thinking, can you really see that well from 20 yards away? Even the slow mo’s on TV are often inconclusive until it is taken to frame by frame. So maybe, just maybe, the umpires are starting to see things that they think they should be seeing, and not what they actually see which is a very close call.

Technology does seem to have eroded the concept of ‘benefit of the doubt’ to the batsman in the matches it has been used in. They have tried to temper this, with the ‘Umpires Call’ element on the Hawk Eye system, a worthy addition which I think is a most practical way of finding the balance. Yet the truth remains that technology is eroding away the levels of doubt that league umpires once trawled through before they could even muster the thought of raising the dreaded digit.

League umpires do a splendid job for the vast majority of the time in finding the balance. However, it is clear to see that as technology continues to change perceptions in the professional game, at an amateur level we must also begin to deal with the consequences. Most notably, how many of those LBW shouts from very round arm left handed spinners are actually plum. I hope your reading umpires of Nottinghamshire…