No UDRS in the UAE Test series: PCB

Umpire Decision Review System to not feature in the Test series between Pakistan and South Africa in the UAE.

KARACHI: The Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) will not feature in the Test series between Pakistan and South Africa in the UAE. The UDRS, which featured in the series against England and Australia earlier this year allows players to challenge and overturn umpires’ decisions but is only used after the consent of the home team’s cricket board.

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided not to implement the system due to no clause in the agreement with the broadcasters – in this case Tensports – the technology will not feature in the Test series. The PCB Director Operations Zakir Khan said, “There is no agreement with the broadcasters on the issue. But when a new deal is signed in 2012, we will bring up the matter.”

The UDRS, a venture by the International Cricket Council (ICC), to make the sport error-free is an expensive one and boards have been reluctant over its use.

Paksitan team manager Intikhab Alam said, “The UDRS is very beneficial for the game. But it’s expensive to use and maybe this is the reason why we won’t see it in the series against South Africa.

“Although it makes the game more error-free, the use of it is very tactical.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2010.