DRS is Ruining Cricket

The current Ashes series is the most combative of rivalries; the Ashes are a cauldron of test match cricket. A contest between arch enemies that stems back to 1862.

Steeped in history with countless stories, encounters and drama filled moments does this grandest of series really need DRS. DRS abbreviated for Decision Review System has already proven controversial during the current series.

Brought in initially to stop ‘howlers’ decisions that the umpire has gotten so wrong that blind Freddy could tell it was missing off stomp by a country mile, it would seem that DRS itself has become a howler. The most controversial decision thus far has been the one involving English all rounder Stuart broad.

Nicking the ball to first slip, Broad was obviously out but through the pure incompetence of umpire Aleem Dar, Broad was given not out in surely what must be one of the worst decisions in Ashes cricket history. Apart from Broad’s failure to walk leading to some label him a cheat, the controversy highlight the inadequacy of DRS. Here are my four main reasons as to why DRS should be scrapped from test match cricket.

1. It robs the match of the drama of the moment. The final wicket of the first test match at Trent Bridge was decided by another dubious decision. Instead of the test match ending in a moment of triumph for the English the players, the crowd and an the international viewing audience waiting around for several minutes while the nick or otherwise was forensically examined by the third umpire.


2. Either use it or lose it. The system was brought in to rid the game of poor decisions therefore ridding the game of unnecessary controversy. In this task it has abjectly failed.


3. Players don’t get to decide. One of the great flaws with DRS is that it adds another set of tactics to the game, tactics that the English have proven far more adept at during the first test matches. However surely it is up to the umpires to determine whether a decision should be reviewed. As the impartial arbiters of the game surely they are best placed to refer decisions if there is any doubt in their minds.


4. The technology is flawed. Hot spot, snicko and the ball tracker are all at the disposal of the third umpire and despite this the third umpire gets it wrong time and time again.

Sure, the system could be revised or enhanced but surely the easiest and most practical thing to do is to abolish it altogether. The modern game has survived and flourished for over 150 years without the aid of faddish technologies. The real beauty of the game is all you need is some grass, a bat, a ball and some stomps. DRS undermines this simplicity and one could argue that it undermines the spirit of the game.

I for one can handle the occasional howler if it rids us of the false stuttering and stammering that DRS brings to this great game.