The Umpire strikes back
The most important figure of the game always has been and continues to be in the backdrop. To understand the umpire, we could probably compare him to any ancient roman emperor overlooking a gladiator battle it out in the Colosseum.
THE BOWLERS takes the ball in his clasp, looks towards the batsman, glances at the pitch and waits for the ruler of the game to grant him permission to bowl his delivery. What follows is five days of riveting action in which one batsman becomes a hero, one bowler writes his name in the books of sporting history and one fielder is hailed as the game-changer for plucking the ball out of thin air. The ruler of the game, the leader, the head of state is forgotten in the sands of time. The third umpire, Oxenford, despite the technology available, failed to see a clear stumping and tilted the match in favour of the baggy greens. The umpires single handedly changed the outcome of an entire test match. The match went on to become a controversy almost as big as “bodyline”. The most important figure of the game always has been and continues to be in the backdrop. To understand the umpire, we could probably compare him to any ancient roman emperor overlooking a gladiator battle it out in the Colosseum. The gladiator despite surviving the fight would still have to wait for the emperor’s decision on life and death. The umpire similarly decides on the life and death of a batsman’s innings. He could make or break that one innings in a split second and nothing in the game might be able to change that decision. However at the end of the day everyone still remembers the innings and not the deciding factor of that innings. The only people, who have ever realized the importance of an umpire and the fact that he reigns supreme, are the makers of sporting technology. They know how critical it is for the umpire to get his decision right. They realize how one bad decision could ruin a game and a brilliant one could make for a thrilling contest. Hence, they dedicate their lives to develop technology like the hawk-eye and UDRS. These technology savvy people work their entire life to ensure the ruler gets his decision right and the wrong man is not hung. Perhaps, soon the UDRS will become a permanent feature and help the silent hero of the game, the umpire, write a perfect script every time he sets foot on the field that bears the 22 yard strip. Hopefully, one day more than just a few men will realize the true hero of the game of cricket. Hopefully one day an umpire will engrave his story of glory in the books of sporting history.
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