The Hindu : Meet the men in the middle

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 18, 2002

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Meet the men in the middle

By Vijay Lokapally

THE BALL IS IN OUR COURT: Australia's Daryl Harper (left) and Asoka de Silva of Sri Lanka, who officiated in the first Test between India and the West Indies at Georgetown, discussing the nuances of umpiring. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan

PORT OF SPAIN APRIL 17. They are always the centre of attraction, be it for a job well done or for making human errors which the alert television cameras expose. Yet, they remain the voiceless face of the game and are the butt of ridicule of all couch potatoes.

The men in black and white have a thankless job to do. So, meeting Daryl Harper and Asoka de Silva, the umpires for the first three Tests in the ongoing India-West Indies series, was a pleasant experience as one listened to their views on various aspects of their profession.

Three Test matches in a row to officiate in! Not even the legendary Dickie Bird enjoyed such a run. Though Australia's Harper and Asoka, from Sri Lanka, have a demanding job on hand they feel the idea is worth giving a try.

Harper, a man full of verve and enthusiasm, welcomed the move. "It's wonderful to be together. It's special. We develop our relationship, signals and communication. We also develop eye contact as the game wears on. I'm looking forward to the remaining two Tests. I'm sure we'll combine well together. We've got the confidence in the system and think it's going to work well. I and Asoka are good teammates on and off the field," said the affable Aussie.

Asoka is a typical Sri Lankan — friendly and forthcoming. "I've known Daryl for some time. He was in Sri Lanka to officiate and I've had no problems at all in communicating with him. We support each other on the field and it's actually lovely to be doing three Tests with him. He's more experienced, having done more Tests than me. I've been enjoying officiating with him,'' said Asoka.

Welcome move

On the new proposal of giving umpires three matches in a row, Harper said: "It's a wonderful concept. In my first 12 Tests, I've had 12 different partners on 12 different grounds. Now I'll have the same partner. In the process, we'll certainly learn more interesting things about each other every day."

Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle, the Chief of the Match Referees panel, gave the official view on this new experiment of retaining the umpires for three successive matches. "The basic concept is that the International Cricket Council has moved towards having the eight best umpires. The idea is to give the Test cricketers the best officials to make the decision. It also ensures a level of commitment and consistency.

"The umpires get used to the conditions and understand the teams better. It becomes smoother for everyone involved in the match. It also means greater exposure for the umpires. I'm sure it'll lead to better quality of umpiring and establish higher standards. Harper and Asoka are part of the elite eight-member panel of umpires who have been picked to stand in Test matches. For one-day internationals, one home umpire will get to officiate with his partner from the elite group," said Madugalle.

Dream come true

The Australian was honest to admit that he never expected to come this far. "To tell you the truth I had never ever dreamt of being in the elite panel. I had never even dreamt of doing a Test match. So, I'm actually honoured to be here with Asoka. I had umpired when he played in Australia on one occasion when he was a young man and I was middle-aged. It's thrilling to be involved in the game as an umpire at the highest level," Harper remarked.

For Asoka, it was something he had always aspired to become. "Umpiring is something I like a lot. As a cricketer I always looked forward to being in the middle. It's the same now — being in the middle — and I'm enjoying the job. I'm looking at it as a positive way of serving the game. In Sri Lanka, I had a steady coaching job and then this umpiring thing happened."

How was Asoka's experience then? "Well, let me admit that it's a hard job. There's very little appreciation for your work. No one remembers the good decisions we make. But commit one mistake and you become the talking point. I've known it all as a player and that's why I took up the challenge. Being targeted after making a poor decision can be very depressing."

But Asoka looks at it realistically. "Everyone makes a mistake. The batsmen, bowlers, fielders. They all make mistakes. It's all about who makes the lesser number of mistakes. That's how I look at it honestly."

In Harper's opinion, bad decisions are part of the game. "Everyone loves to be perfect. With the technology watching us so closely, we're expected to be near-perfect. When we make mistakes — and we do make mistakes — we regret them. But then we've to move on to the next ball whether you're umpiring in a game of under-14 boys or a Test match. We don't want to disappoint anyone with a bad decision. When we make one, we too are as disappointed but we work on the next ball."

How do the two look at this concept of neutral umpires? An umpire as such is expected to be neutral. Then why this emphasis on being neutral? Harper said: "it's not a problem from the umpires' point of view. I think it's more the general public's perspective. Other sports have gone this way years ago and cricket's falling in line and being progressive by having neutral umpires. It just takes away the suggestion that they may not be perfect in every decision. Once again there'll be a human error. If it's done by a neutral umpire it's perceived as a lesser problem. We, on our part, are striving to give our best."

For Asoka, who has played Test cricket, it was quite comfortable slipping into a role he was aware of. "I can understand what to expect in a particular situation. I've been through it all," he remarked.

For Harper, it did not really matter if he did not don the Australian colours. "I don't think it's tougher for those who haven't played the game at the highest level. I had a passion for cricket. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and listen to cricket in the West Indies and England just like any other Australian boy who loved his cricket. I don't believe it's a problem."

Madugalle, who was present during the interaction with Harper and Asoka, expects a positive role for him. "I only look at myself as the ICC representative appointed to ensure the game is played according to the laws and standard playing conditions. I also need to ensure that the game is played in the right spirit. My job is to act as a facilitator to see that these objectives are met."

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