Category Archives: television commentary

April 20, 2016 · 3:16 am

Dharmasena’s Reflections on Cricket Past and Present

Dinesh Weerawansa, in Sunday Observer, April 2016, where the title is “Lankan team only lacks experience – Former Observer Schoolboy Cricketer Kumar Dharmasena”

Observer Schoolboy Cricketer turned ICC elite panel international umpire Kumar Dharmasena does not see any crisis situation in the Sri Lanka national team. In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer during his short visit to Colombo for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Dharmasena said he does not see any crisis or an alarming situation in the Sri Lanka team. The former Sri Lanka all-rounder who was a member of the 1996 World Cup-winning team, attributed the recent dismal performance of the national team due to lack of experience and international exposure and expressed confidence that the team would be able to bounce back in near future.

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Filed under Atapattu, cricket and life, cricketing icons, murali, performance, player selections, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket, television commentary, unusual people, West Indian Cricket

April 6, 2016 · 2:29 am

How Dharmasena’s Intervention reprieved the West Indies

The Island, 6 April 2016, with highlighting and Footnotes being the Cricketique Editor’s additions

On Sunday, the West Indies stunned the cricketing world with their come from behind victory against England in the finals of the ICC World T-20 at Eden Gardens in Calcutta . Barbadian Carlos Brathwaite and Jamaican Marlon Samuels were the stars in West Indies ’ win. However, victory wouldn’t have been possible for West Indies if not for Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena. West Indies had made dreadful start losing three wickets for just 11 runs and the game looked well beyond their reach when Samuels was given out caught behind by umpire Rod Tucker. Samuels walked off with the scoreboard reading 37 for four. However, Dharmasena the leg-umpire was suspicious given the way wicketkeeper Josh Buttler had collected the catch. Continue reading →

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Filed under close finsihes, cricket governance, International Cricket Council, performance, Russel Arnold, technology and cricket, television commentary, tower of strength, unusual people, West Indian Cricket, work ethic

March 23, 2016 · 6:30 am

Withering before the Windies, Bangalore 20th March 2016

Michael Roberts … also see http://www.islandcricket.lk/columns/michael_roberts/473560223/downfall-against-the-windies-why-and-how

Sri Lanka slumped to a defeat against the West Indies at Bangalore on the 20^th March because of a combination of factors, some self-made, some Windies-made and some due to horrendous umpiring error. Assigning weightage amongst an array of factors is never easy and is inevitably conjectural. I side-step that problem. Just let me run through these ‘forces’ one by one, progressing in temporal order.

The umpiring was calamitous and it was Sri Lanka who suffered – not once, but on three occasions. I begin with this undermining force because the first blow was in the 4^th over of the Sri Lankan innings when Dilshan was batting effectively (12 runs in ten balls) and the score was 20 – not great, but not too bad. The ESPN writer reacted thus

Brathwaite to Dilshan, OUT, and strikes first ball! Boy, that looked a bit leg-side at first glance but he’s gone lbw. Full, angling into the pads, Dilshan aims through the leg side but misses. The umpire takes a long time but eventually the finger goes up. Oh dear, that’s missing by a long way.

The TV commentators were as definitive in their assessment of the South African umpire John Cloete’s terrible decision.

Cloete adjudicating in a previous match Continue reading →

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Filed under Angelo Mathews, performance, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket, technology and cricket, television commentary, unusual people, West Indian Cricket

December 20, 2015 · 11:27 pm

Human Error in Third Umpire Room is the Problem, not DRS

Michael Roberts

It is human error in the Third Umpire’s Room that has caused some critical mistakes in umpiring in recent cricket matches. First by Nigel Llong in Adelaide and now by Richard Ketleborough in Hamilton. Ian Smith stormed out of the TV commentary rooms telling the world [around him] that the Third Umpire’s error could cause the Kiwis the match. Well might Russel Arnold have climbed the walls in Hamilton in the same style! The error was worse in fact: Kettleborough overturned an on-field “NOT OUT” where Llong confirmed an on-field error.

Hot Spot

While several years of DRS experience has sharpened on-field decisions by the world’s battery of umpires, it appears that certain paths//facets of the technology are still not understood by some umpires (and maybe by all of the umpiring fraternity). I am not a technological wizard, but two comments by ordinary blokes in ESPNcricinfo reveal wizards of the kind we need …. as instructors to the whole class of top-umpires. I quote them below, but add my two bits worth first.

What was the common factor in the two major errors under discussion, that in Adelaide and that in Hamilton? The decision went in favour of the home side. SO… is that coincidence or cause? Continue reading →

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December 20, 2015 · 12:43 pm

Another Third Umpire Error in Interpreting DRS has Fatal Impact on the Course of a Tight Match

Andrew Fidel Fernando, courtesy of ESPNcricinfo, 19 December 2015, where the title is “Jayasundera dismissal causes another DRS stir”

Sri Lanka bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake said the DRS system had “a lot of errors”, in the wake of what seemed to be an incorrect DRS call which cost Sri Lanka a wicket. Third umpire Richard Kettleborough had overturned Paul Reiffel‘s not-out decision on a caught-behind call on batsman Udara Jayasundera in the 23rd over of Sri Lanka’s second innings. There appeared to be no conclusive evidence that the batsman had gloved the ball on snicko or hotspot, but Kettleborough may have instead relied on a seeming deviation from the glove. This deviation, seen from a rear camera angle, was later shown to be an optical illusion.

Sri Lanka cricket team captain Angelo Mathews (R) speaks with the umpire RA Kettleborough during the final day of their third and final cricket Test match against Pakistan at the Sharjah International Cricket Stadium, in the Gulf emirate of Sharjah, on January 20, 2014. Pakistan pulled off a thrilling five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the third and final Test in Sharjah, levelling the series at 1-1. AFP P PHOTO/ISHARA S. KODIKARA (Photo credit should read Ishara S.KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images) — in Hamilton the Third Umpire mis-reading the DRS vis a vis Jayasundera’s dismissal was Kettleborough

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December 8, 2015 · 10:13 am

In Tony Cozier’s Footsteps ….. Cricket-Web features Fazeer Mohammed

Ganesh Venkat in Q and A with Fazeer Mohammed, Trinidadian Cricket Commentator …. http://www.cricketweb.net/interview-with-fazeer-mohammed-part-1/

Cricket Web’s Ganesh Venkat caught up with Fazeer Mohammed during the recently concluded Third Test between West Indies and South Africa at Bridgetown, Barbados. Fazeer is a well known Commentator and Broadcaster from Port-Of-Spain Trinidad and one of the few commentators who has not played the game at the highest level. In short you can call him the “Harsha Bhogle” of West Indies Cricket. Faz is taking over from Tony Cozier as the face of West Indies cricket behind the microphone. In the first part of the interview Faz talks about how he ended up commenting on cricket, problems facing West Indies Cricket, past players, current players and captaincy issues.

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November 30, 2015 · 3:16 pm

A Failure of Umpiring Common-Sense at Adelaide: Lyon’s Reprieve

Michael Roberts

Cricket umpiring is a difficult task and subject to human error. The cluster of technological systems and directives that make up the DRS today overcame the deep conservatism of the cricketing administrators (Indian obduracy and idiocy excepted) so as to improve the system and reduce errors. That objective has been secured; while the presence of the system has improved the capacity of umpires because they study its workings and can, now, make better judgements.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 28: Nathan Lyon of Australia swings at the ball during day three of the Fourth Ashes Test Match between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 28, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

Nathan Lyon of Australia swings at the ball on another occasion–Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images –just as he did at Adelaide where two sixes came off his bat

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Filed under close finsihes, cricketing rules, DRS, ICC, politics and cricket, technology and cricket, television commentary

November 30, 2015 · 2:24 pm

Fallible Umpires? No Excuse for Fallible Third Umpire with TV Asset

Melinda Farrell and Daniel Brettig, courtesy of ESPNcricinfo, 1 December 2015, http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-new-zealand-2015-16/content/story/945583.html, where the title is “Did Lyon decision contravene ICC directive for DRS?”

Nathan Lyon‘s reprieve during the Adelaide Test appears to have been in direct contravention of the ICC’s directives for umpires using the DRS. In a decision New Zealand have lodged a formal protest against, the third umpire Nigel Llong ruled that Lyon was not out despite Hot Spot showing a mark where the ball had passed the back of the bat, before ballooning off Lyon’s shoulder and into the hands of Kane Williamson at slip.

Llong’s deliberations were broadcast live on the Nine Network’s television coverage and, while viewing the Hot Spot vision, he stated three times that he could see a mark. He then told the on-field umpire S Ravi: “There’s a mark on the bat but it could come from anywhere.”

ESPNcricinfo has confirmed that umpires make their deliberations under instructions that Real-time Snicko (RTS) is only to be used if Hot Spot does not show a mark. “If the umpire gives it out [and it is reviewed], the third umpire will look at the spin-vision replay to start with, then he’ll go to Hot Spot,” Geoff Allardice, the ICC head of cricket operations, had said when explaining the introduction of RTS in 2013. “If there’s a mark on Hot Spot he’ll go straight to out. That’s his conclusive evidence straight away. The only time Snicko will be used is if there’s no mark on Hot Spot.” Continue reading →

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November 26, 2015 · 7:27 am

A Forgotten Cricket-Shattering Moment: The First Night Game in Cricket!

Gideon Haigh in The Australian, 26 November 2015, where the title is “The Night when Cricket left the Dark Ages”

Barry & Len at Adelaide Oval today–recognize them do you?–Pic from Getty Images

“It was in Barbados.”

“No it was Trinidad.”

“It was Antigua, wasn’t it?”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, your memory’s better than mine.”

Lunch was into its third hour, and the memories were coming thick and fast. The Aussies made this many. So-and-so made that many. Thommo was this quick. Dennis was this good. Among a bunch of journos at a restaurant table in Adelaide, Ian and Greg Chappell, Barry Richards and Len Pascoe were rolling back the years on the subject of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket, suddenly apropos again on the eve of the inaugural night Test match. Continue reading →

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Filed under Australian cricket, cricket tamashas, cricketing icons, Gideon Haigh, greg chappell, politics and cricket, technology and cricket, television commentary, tower of strength, World Series Cricket