Why BBL passed on DRS: It’s too expensive

The start of the new BBL season has been marred by umpiring howlers, prompting calls for DRS to be used. Here’s why it won’t be.

Usman Khawaja of the Thunder bats during the Big Bash League match against the Melbourne Stars.

The Big Bash League has revealed it was unable to afford the Decision Review System, with an estimated bill for the state-of-the-art technology nudging $1.5 million for the nine-week tournament.

DRS has never featured in Cricket Australia’s Twenty20 competition and there was no way the expense was finally going to be paid for this summer as the COVID-19 pandemic drained the sport’s finances.

The opening six matches have been marred by umpire howlers that batsmen were unable to overturn, most notably drawcard openers Usman Khawaja (Sydney Thunder) and Andre Fletcher (Melbourne Stars), who were incorrectly dismissed in the same game on Saturday.

Khawaja (seven runs) was visibly furious at being given out caught behind despite clearly missing the ball, while Fletcher (12) signalled for DRS when the finger went up for an lbw shout that was missing the stumps, only to be told he could not challenge the on-field decision.

The Big Bash has been left behind globally, with Fletcher’s Caribbean Premier League bringing in DRS for its 2018 finals series.

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But BBL organisers are confident the absence of the technology will not make or break a league that has shaken things up dramatically with three radical rule changes.

While every club has thumbed its nose at the X-factor – the ability to make a substitution after the 10th over of the first innings – the Power Surge has caused several matches to swing dramatically when the batting team activates a two-over power play.

Thunder coach Shane Bond sniggered: “No chance” when asked if he would be bringing in an X-factor player on Saturday.

While those left-field alterations were free to introduce, there is a belief that it would’ve been irresponsible to fork out $1.5 million for DRS after a year of financial hardship threatened to bankrupt the sport.

This season’s BBL salary cap sits at $1.86 million, and bringing in DRS would’ve almost been the equivalent of stumping up for a ninth franchise’s entire playing roster.

While the estimations are rough, it is understood the breakdown would’ve seen around $20,000 forked out for every match, with that figure jumping to $35,000 for the first and final games at each venue as the technology is installed and then removed.

That would’ve equated to each referral costing around $5000-7000.

Melbourne Stars import Andre Fletcher was caught out by the lack of DRS in BBL.

Given the impact of COVID-19, is likely that the only way the $1.5 million could’ve possibly been raised was if broadcast partners Channel 7, Fox Cricket and CA all joined forces.

The seven-figure total includes paying specialist technicians to sit in a truck and control the technology.

While the TV networks sometimes show ball tracking technology in the Big Bash, it is less reliable than DRS and usually takes about an over to produce remotely.

Last summer’s Test-match DRS standard saw New Zealand-owned company Virtual Eye deploy four high-resolution cameras on a 35-degree angle from each corner of the pitch.

They each capture at 200 frames per second, while ordinary cameras capture at 25, and VE’s hi-tech cameras are calibrated after every over, lining up a virtual set of stumps.

That technology was paid for by Fox Cricket.

Fox Cricket commentators Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Brad Haddin and Brett Lee have all called for the introduction of the technology.

“We’ve seen enough bad decisions today,” Waugh said during the Stars-Thunder game.

Lee warned a “stinker” of a decision could flip the entire league on its head, while Gilchrist said that batsmen being wrongly dismissed went against the heart of the competition, which was to try and showcase the world’s very best players.