What's the future for 'neutral' umpires?

Tony Becca, Contributor

Billy Bowden and Tony Hill are currently standing in the Test match between England and Pakistan at Lord's. They are both from New Zealand, and it is the first time in almost a decade that two umpires from the same country are officiating in the same Test match.

Probably even more significant, and especially so to Bowden and Hill, barring possibly the quadrangular series in 1912, it is the first time that two umpires from the same country, not including England, have stood in a Test match at Lord's.

The sight of Bowden, the eccentric and friendly veteran, and Hill, the relative newcomer, in action has brought back memories of the days, not so long ago, when men like Syd Buller and Arthur Fagg of England, Colin Hoy and Colin Egar of Australia and, of course, Cortez Jordan and Ralph Gosein of the West Indies stood together in a Test match, when two umpires from the same island were in action, when the likes of Perry Burke and Tom Ewart of Jamaica, Jordan and Cecil Kippins of Barbados, and Douglas Sang Hue and Owen Davies of Jamaica ran the show from opposite ends of the same pitch.

Home team umpires

Those were the days when, with the exception of the early days when England toured the West Indies with one of their own, Joe Hardstaff, standing at one end, the home teams provided the umpires, and when, in the West Indies, the home territory put out both umpires.

Those were the days when mistakes were accepted, and when, most importantly, sportsmanship was king; when, although everyone knew it happened, no one dared even mention cheating or, to put it mildly, hometown decisions.

Those were the days when cricket was the sport of gentlemen, when to do anything dishonest, any where or in any endeavour, was dismissed as "that's not cricket".

In those days, even if they were not all honest, the umpire's decision was final, and definitely so.

In those days, however, there were whispers. The whispers grew louder and louder. By the time 1960 came around, almost every fan in every country believed that the umpires in every other country were all cheats, and certainly after the West Indies tour of New Zealand in 1980, the call for 'neutral' umpires was deafening.

Neutral umpires

There were neutral umpires in the World Cup, and it was not long after that, in the early 1990s, that cricket went to one 'neutral' and one 'home' umpire in Test matches.

In 2002, out went the one home umpire and in came the two neutral umpires.

In the eight years since then, and especially because of the importance of local knowledge in things like the bounce of the ball and the weather, there have been discussions as to the wisdom of that decision and whether it would not be better to return to the days of one neutral and one 'home' umpire.

While that, and more so, a return to the old days and back to the two home umpires, seemed a backward step up to a few years ago, things and times have changed.

It no longer seems so, at least not necessarily so.

In recent years, cricket has done so much to ensure that the correct decisions are made by its officials in the middle that it probably can return to the use of two 'home' umpires.

With cameras everywhere, with Hawk Eye and Hot Spot checking everything, with a third and a fourth umpire looking at television replays and ready to answer questions from any of the two umpires in the middle and with the players, on the batting team and on the fielding team able to ask questions to protect themselves, with those off the field able to overturn the decisions of those on the field, the nationality of the two umpires in the middle seems of little importance.

If what is important is the correct decision, it seems that it really does not matter if it is one like Hardstaff of England and one like Enos Knibbs of the West Indies standing in a Test match at Sabina Park, as they did in 1930, if it is two like Jamaicans Burke and Ewart as it was at Sabina Park in 1958, or, as it is at Lord's today, if it is two like Bowden and Hill from New Zealand.

Is the presence of Bowden and Hill at Lord's a sign of things to come?

Back to old days

One never knows but, apart from the fact that umpires want to officiate at home and want to spend more time at home, if what is important are correct decisions, it could be the beginning of the return to the old days.

With technology available, all that is needed to ensure that every batsman who is given out is really out, that every batsman who is given not out is really not out, is for every batsman to have the right to call on the television umpire for a review; for the bowler, after appealing, to have the right to call for a review of every negative decision; and for the television umpire to have the right to advise the on-the-field umpire without invitation.

Because of technology and the input of the third umpire, it would not matter, but when the best teams meet in a Test match, it would be nice to know, even if they are from one team or the other, that the best officials are in action, or that they can be in action.