DRS boss Ian Taylor calls for system to be overhauled after Steve Smith howler

The company behind DRS has explained the bizarre howler which almost caught Steve Smith dearly in the SCG Test — and called for a major change to the system.

India celebrate after Australia’s Steve Smith (front C) was dismissed for LBW during day four of the third cricket Test match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on January 10, 2021. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP) / — IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE

The man in charge of DRS admits the system owes Steve Smith an apology for giving him the fright of his life in Sydney, but says the bigger issue is the review process must be completely overhauled.

Smith was left shocked on day three when a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery that looked like it was going way down the leg-side was shown to be clipping leg-stump – with umpire’s call saving him from a shock dismissal.

The Australian star was left shaking his head again on day four when DRS confirmed his lbw fate to send him packing for 81, but although Smith simply had to wear that decision – he received an explanation from Ian Taylor, CEO of Virtual Eye, for the bizarre incident earlier in the innings.

"F******' DRS!"

A controversial decision went against Australia on day three and skipper Tim Paine didn't hold back. Paine's R-rated spray at umpire: https://t.co/qJ5KWqdrxs pic.twitter.com/JZPBV02gH9

— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) January 9, 2021

Frozen images of the referral showed a clear difference between where Smith’s off-stump stood and where DRS had overlaid the wicket, prompting teammate Pat Cummins to concede, “With that Steve one, we were all shaking our heads.”

But Taylor has explained that a rare glitch where the replay of the delivery did not calibrate properly with the ball-tracking had caused the error.

There was nothing wrong with the tracking itself, but rather – the camera had momentarily lost focus – something that should have been fixed by a recalibration fail-safe.

“In hindsight the operator should have asked for additional time to make sure the recalibration was correct – it usually is – but in the rush of a DRS – and knowing that the track itself was correct – he rolled the video,” said Taylor.

“We accept full responsibility for this and hope this helps explain how it happened.”

DRS going well ... Steve Smith batting with a 4th stump according to ball tracker.

Do you trust it? pic.twitter.com/XizMpR9veo

— Ben Cameron (@BenCameron23) January 9, 2021

Taylor admits he’s been frustrated by criticism from Australian captain Tim Paine and many ex-greats this summer about the technology, with Sachin Tendulkar calling for the scrapping of umpire’s call.

But the Kiwi techno-genius said he has his own solution for eradicating DRS controversy once and for all and is pushing strongly for ICC officialdom to listen to his case and take players’ challenges out of the process.

Taylor says the third umpire position should become a specialist role for umpires who become experts in using the DRS technology and sit themselves with the DRS operators in the replay van during matches rather than separated up in the box.

Ashwin gets the breakthrough for India! But is it more DRS controversy? Steve Smith is fuming 😠#AUSvIND live blog: https://t.co/aspPd19XoK pic.twitter.com/6fn5xzaBkV

— News Cricket (@NewsCorpCricket) January 10, 2021

At the moment, umpires are rotated between standing roles out in the middle and being the TV umpire – but Taylor said the way to truly streamline the system is to eradicate the captain’s challenges and give full jurisdiction on whether or not to challenge to a specialist third umpire in the truck.

“My argument has always been that first of all, DRS was brought in for the howlers. We have always argued that the better solution is that you have a proper third umpire who sits in the truck with virtual eye,” said Taylor.

“He sits in the truck with the ball tracking guys and the hotspot guys and the snicko guys, because we’re all in one truck together. They are trained to fully understand the technology. If you sit in the truck you will see that team are so skilled they’ve got the answer for you within about 10 seconds. Because they’re seeing every ball.

Indian players celebrate removing Steve Smith via DRS on day four at the SCG.

“What if you trained somebody whose sole job was to sit in that room as the arbitrator and he sees every ball bowled just like we do? There is no players’ call on the field.

“For justice, the better thing is you have a fully qualified umpire in that room. He sees all the information, every ball that’s bowled … and he makes the call.”

Taylor argues his model would mean third umpires would only review howlers and it would maximise the efficiency of the whole system, including eradicating front-foot no balls in real time.

Former Test captain Ian Chappell said on ABC that he agrees with captain’s reviews being removed.

“I’m not surprised he’s frustrated, because I think the DRS system is a bit rubbish,” he said.

“It shouldn’t be in the hands of players. The first thing you learn as a player is the umpire is always right.

“They’re encouraging players to argue with the umpire.”