MELBOURNE, May 16: Umpires made the right decision 19 times out of every 20 appeals during the 2001-02 Australian summer, the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) said in a report released Thursday.

Australia drew 0-0 in a three-Test series with New Zealand before sweeping South Africa 3-0 and winning a triangular limited over series.

Former players and officials, including former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding, have been critical in recent years of decisions seen to favour the home side in Tests played in Australia.

“From the 363 appeals made to Australian umpires during the two Test series and the (one-day) series, 345 decisions were correct,” the ACB said.

“The umpires were at their best during the (one-day) series, when 96 percent of the 225 appeals resulted in correct decisions.”

ACB Umpiring Manager Geoff Allardice said the first trial of the new umpiring technology was successful and the data from the 2001-02 season showed the umpires did a good job.

“However, given that this technology was instituted for the first time this year, it is difficult to compare the performance with years gone by,” he said.

A video review process enabled officials to log every ball so umpires could review footage of each decision.

“If we want our umpires to improve, an effective way to do that is to sit down and review each decision and use footage to iron out deficiencies,” Allardice said.

Daryl Harper is the only Australian member of the eight-man elite panel of international match umpires appointed by the International Cricket Council in March.—Reuters