COLOMBO, Aug 6: Cricketers cannot take longer than a few seconds to seek an umpire referral in case of a close dismissal, says a technical expert, who submitted a report reviewing the recently-introduced system to ICC General Manager Dave Richardson.

“Consultation between the players is allowed provided it occurs almost immediately and is very brief. Procrastination would disqualify a referral,” said Senaka Weeraratana on the referral system that is on trial in the ongoing Test series between India and Sri Lanka. “The total time elapsed between the ball becoming dead and the review request being made should be no more than a few seconds,” Weeraratna, a former consultant to the Sri Lankan Law Commission said.

Weeraratna maintained that if the umpires believe that a request has not been made promptly, they may at their discretion decline to review the decision.

On the referral system as a whole, Weeraratna said, “the notion of justice is infinitely superior to that of tradition.”

“A system that enhances a greater degree of accuracy in decision making is innately better than a system that merely rests on tradition i.e. on the finality of the decision of the on field umpire, irrespective of whether he gets it right or wrong,” he said.

Weeraratana, however, agreed with Indian cricket captain Anil Kumble, who felt there was a need to address the issue of delays in adjudication. “There are problems of unnecessary suspension of the game due to delays in lodging and in considering the referral, and subjective assessment by the third umpire of trajectory of the ball after it has struck the leg pad of the batsman allegedly covering the wicket,” Weeraratana said.

“The captain may consult with the bowler and other fielders or the two batsmen may consult with each other prior to deciding whether to request a review. However, in order to meet this requirement such consultation will need to occur almost instantly and be very brief,” he added.

Weeraratna’s comments come close on the heels of controversial dismissals of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in the second Test match at Galle.

He felt the leg before decisions should rest primarily with the on field umpire and that the third umpire’s assistance should be sought strictly for the purpose of ascertaining whether the ball touched the bat before it struck the leg pad.

Mahela Jayawardene had earlier sought to clear the air on the controversial umpire referral of Dravid and defended his decision to go for a delayed appeal.

“They have not given us a certain time. They have said that certainly we cannot ask from our camp in the dressing room after a replay and that it has to be done fairly quickly like whether it will be 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds or 25 seconds,” Jayawardena had explained.—Agencies