ARL managing director Ian Taylor has much riding on the International Cricket Council's decision to trial a system which allows players to challenge the decisions of on-field umpires in the test series between Sri Lanka and India, scheduled to begin in Colombo yesterday.
The experimental rule allows players to refer any decision made by an on-field umpire on whether or not a batsman has been dismissed, with the exception of "timed out", to the third umpire.
He will review the coverage and will be allowed to use approved ball-tracking technology in lbw decisions for the first time. The information will be relayed to the on-field umpire for a final decision.
If the trial is a success, the company's ball-tracking software and animated graphic display package, called Virtual Eye, is likely to be in hot demand.
ARL spent $1 million in about 10 weeks developing Virtual Eye in the hope of breaking the hold of its rival, Hawk-Eye, on the market.
The company won a deal to supply Virtual Eye for all of India's home matches through to 2010. But the technology was being used by the broadcaster only to improve the viewing experience, not to help umpires make lbw decisions.
The technology was not designed to phase out umpires, Taylor said from Sri Lanka yesterday. Rather, it was there to eliminate obvious blunders and aid in making the best possible decisions.
"Technology should never replace the umpire. It should be put there to aid them," he said.
"How we can aid the umpire is, we can give you factual information about where it pitched and where it hit.
"When it comes to predicting where the ball will end up, the computer is guessing as well," he said.
"Actually, the umpire has an advantage, because he can feel the wind, he can see the dust. He is there and he should be the one who decides that [if the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps].
"It is designed to get rid of those ones that are totally wrong, where a series can be decided on a wrong decision because something was missed."
The ICC had intended to trial the challenge system in the current England-South Africa series but an agreement could not be reached.
Both India and Sri Lanka were happy to trial the system but the ICC had to test Virtual Eye before it could give its approval for the trial to go ahead.
With the Virtual Eye system being used during the Asia Cup series in Pakistan, the earliest the test could take place was Monday.
A delegation from the Marylebone Cricket Club conducted the testing on behalf of the ICC and gave the technology a pass mark. "Now we can confidently say to everybody, we've been tested by the MCC and we've done it."
Despite the rigorous testing Taylor admitted to some nerves. "I guess our hearts will be in our mouths every time there is an lbw appeal."
Both India captain Anil Kumble and his Sri Lankan counterpart, Mahela Jayawardene, yesterday told AFP they welcomed the trial.
"It will obviously be helpful for the umpires and the teams. I can't really say much till it is experimented because it's something new. We're only looking at the positive things," Kumble said.
"It's meant for the errors that sometimes happen. We can look to negate that and not question the umpire's decision at every possibility."
"It is a very good system. What we are trying to eradicate is obvious mistakes that happen on the field," Jayawardene said.
"I think the umpires are in favour of that as well. It's going to be used for the first time, so I am not sure how good it will be, but we need to support this, because it will benefit cricket overall."
• Challenge system
What is it?
The challenge system allows players to request the third umpire to review decisions by the on-field umpires on whether or not a batsman has been dismissed, with the exception of "timed out". No other umpiring decisions are eligible for review.
When?
Each team can make three unsuccessful requests per innings, which must be made within a few seconds of the ball becoming dead. Once a review request has been made it cannot be withdrawn.
Who?
Only the batsman involved in the dismissal can ask for an "out" decision to be reviewed, and only the captain or acting captain of the fielding team can challenge a "not out" decision. In both cases players can consult on-field team-mates but signals from off the field are not permitted.
How?
The umpire consults with the TV umpire, who will review the coverage before relaying back fact-based information. The field umpire can then either reverse the decision or stand by it.
Technology
The TV umpire can use slow-motion, ultra-motion and super-slow replays, the mat (a superimposed graphic which shows the line of the stumps), sound from the stump microphones and approved ball-tracking technology. Innovations such as Hawk-Eye's Snicko and Hot Spot are not to be used.
Source: cricinfo.com
