DRS has improved correct decisions by over 7 pct - ICC

Tuesday, 8 March 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters) - Cricket's controversial Decision Review System (DRS) has improved correct umpiring verdicts by more than seven percent in the World Cup, the game's governing body said on Monday.

For the first time at a World Cup, each team has the right to question at least two decisions which go against it during an innings.

A third umpire uses the available technology to determine if the on-field officials were correct. But it has not been an easy debut for DRS in the showpiece event.

The Indian Cricket Board, infuriated by Ian Bell's apparent let-off for lbw in the tied India v England match, wrote an angry letter to ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat pointing out the inadequacy it perceives in the system.

The statistics will calm the nerves a bit for the ICC, which revealed that correct decisions in the World Cup have risen from an average of 90.18 per cent to 97.82 per cent due to the DRS.

“It is a fact that the number of (appealed) decisions in this event is way above the normal average for ODIs,” ICC general manager Dave Richardson said in the statement.

“This is because of the type of wickets that prevail in the sub-continent where the bounce is often lower and where there is a greater amount of turn.”