Explained: What Is Umpire's Call In DRS? Why Pakistan Were Not 'Unlucky' In World Cup Loss To South Africa

A controversy erupted after Pakistan lost to South Africa in what was the first close match of the Cricket World Cup 2023 after almost three weeks into the tournament. In the 46th over of the South Africa innings with just one wicket left, Haris Rauf's last delivery hit Tabraiz Shamsi on the pads. Pakistan appealed in unison but umpire Alex Wharf shook his head. The leg before wicket (LBW) was not given. Rauf was on the ground, almost heartbroken. Mohammad Rizwan reached out to Babar Azam saying he should go for the review. The Pakistan captain took it. If the decision got overturned, Pakistan would win this contest. 

Also Read | ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Harbhajan Singh Blames ‘Bad Umpiring’ For Pakistan’s Heartbreaking Loss To South Africa, Graeme Smith Differs

It was not to be. The third umpire saw the ball tracker. The ball pitched outside off but that would not make a difference. The impact was in line. If wickets were hitting, the onfield umpire had to overturn his decision. But the ball tracker showed 'umpire's call' on hitting the wickets and Shamsi got another life. In the next over, South Africa successfully chased down the target. 

Pakistan fans along with former cricketers and some more critics of the Decision Review System (DRS), the technology used to reduce the umpiring error, have slammed the system in place. Pakistanis feel that they have been undone by a glitch in DRS. 

There's a reason "umpire's call" exists in laws of Cricket: where Technology can not provide conclusive evidence, its best to rely on 'the human judgment'.

Ball tracking only predicts a path. It is highly accurate but not 100% error free technology. Unless it can conclude beyond_ — Kamran Muzaffer (@krick3r) October 27, 2023

Misbah-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram, speaking on A Sports, said that either remove the DRS altogether or get rid of the umpire's call. It is either hitting the wickets, on ball tracker, or it is not. Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh said the same on his a X Account.

But that's not how DRS is supposed to work. 

The general misconception among many people who don't understand DRS is that they assume that the ball is actually hitting the stumps when shown on ball tracker. The truth is that the ball tracker only shows the prediction of how the ball would have behaved after it hit the pad. This is the most basic principle on which DRS runs when ascertaining the 'wickets hitting' point. 

Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle explained the point brilliantly in a post on X. 

"After the ball strikes the pad, what you see is a projection of where the ball might have been, it isn't the actual ball because that has met an obstruction. If more than 50% of the ball is projected to hit the stumps, you can be 100% sure it will. But if less than 50% of the ball is projected to hit the stumps, the  current accuracy levels cannot state with 100% certainty that the ball would have hit the stumps. Hence, you go back to the Umpire's original decision because you cannot be certain enough to overturn his call. 

"It is a very good and fair method. As cameras get better and the projected path more certain, we could reach a day when you can be certain that even if the projected path shows a ball merely clipping the stumps, it would in reality have hit them," says Harsha. 

Nasser Hussain, doing an explainer on Sky Sports, said that the DRS is not backing up the umpire when it says 'umpire's call' but it is reflecting the margin of error. So, if the margin of error is not taken into account, you would see bowlers appealing on almost everything that hits the pads and picking wickets. Because the not taking into account the margin of error will increase the virtual size of the wickets. 

"If you did not have that and had umpire's call as out. That means you were imagining the stumps to be higher and wider," said Nasser, explaining DRS with a graphic. Check it below. 

The margin of error has to be taken into account while using the DRS. Like Hasrha said above, it might reduce with the advancement of technology. But for the meantime, it is the best version and should be continued to be used to minimalise the errors done on the fied as much as possible.

Pakistan fans should understand that they have not been served injustice by DRS. There is no conspiracy as well. The onfield umpires would, every now and then, make errors in judgment but that is just part and parcel of the game. 

Earlier, Rassie van de Dussen was also given out on 'umpire's call'. The DRS also had a malfunction, showing the wrong ball tracking, in this instance. That is something ICC should explain. Because such malfunctions will only remove trust of cricket enthusiasts from the technology.