By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
Bangalore : Umpire Simon Taufel said expansion of the elite panel of umpires is not the answer for reducing the workload of those officiating in Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI).
“It’s (expansion of the panel) a part of the solution; not the entire solution. Having 12 full-time umpires is certainly going to make the workload a bit easier,” Taufel, now officiating in the third and final Test against Pakistan, told IANS.
Australian Taufel, who won his fourth successive International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Best Umpire award in September, lauded the world body’s move to increase the strength of the umpires from 10 to 12.
“That’s a positive move, but what we are still working on is the extra training and support that is required to cope with the increasing demands. These days expectations are that you get nothing wrong, that you are always on top of the game, that you are always improving, that you are always able to give and meet people’s expectations,” said the 36-year-old Sydney-based umpire.
Taufel said that the addition of two umpires would go a long way in helping umpires prepare well for tough matches.
“It (getting all decision right) doesn’t always happen. If that (increase in panel) means that some individuals can help balance that a bit more with some extra time at home and properly prepare for a series, be able to be on top of the game more often and that’s a good thing.”
To make umpiring almost error-free, the ICC recently conducted a survey among its various stakeholders by sending them a list of 50 questions.
“They surveyed all the major stakeholders — umpires, coaches, captains, players, administrators and former players — to get their inputs,” said Taufel.
“Then, David Richardson (ICC general manager – cricket), Ranjan Madugalle (chief match referee), ICC president-elect David Morgan, sat down and discussed where they want umpiring to be in a couple of years’ time, what structural changes they need to make, what support programme they should be looking at,” he added.
Based on the inputs from this survey a list of recommendations has been sent to the ICC board for approval. “Hopefully, we will see a better system come out of it,” said Taufel.
Taufel officiated in the first Test in New Delhi and the third match here to take his tally to 46 Tests as an umpire. He has also officiated in 116 ODIs.