One school of thought says that whenever technology can help referees, it should be used. Bad decisions become a thing of the past and the real ‘clangers’, which occur too often for your comfort, are eliminated.

In opposition are those who proclaim that the use of technology produces long and often unnecessary delays, that human error is part of life and sport, that technology is also imperfect and therefore we must carry on as before. Among this group will be some players and referees.

It seems to me that the guiding light should be the least likely factor to be used by the ICC, common sense. First, TMO decisions must be made quickly. At the moment there is a prescribed program of steps: do not score a ball; check the hot spot; check snicko; check hawk eye, etc., etc. The TMO must know what he really needs to see, if the batter comes out, marks the foul ball and makes the call. Unfortunately, it’s not just the technology that sometimes seems flawed, as on more than one occasion a TMO looked at the incident from every possible angle for several minutes and then made an obviously ridiculous decision.

For me and some others, the hawk eye and the way it is used is still a problem. While the TMO awards catches on an inside or outside edge, if contact appears on a snicko or hot spot and a run out or stumping is in or out, for some unfathomable reason, lbw, if the umpire does not award it, it is only out if hawkeye predicts that more than half of the ball will hit the wicket. If the umpire gives it, then the simple brushing of the wicket with the ball is enough to win a ruling in favor of the bowler. This is obviously illogical. Surely one does not use technology unless one trusts that it is completely trustworthy. It then follows that if hawkeye shows that the ball would have hit the wicket and all other conditions are in place for an lbw appeal to be successful, then it is ruled out, regardless of the umpire’s original decision.

Unfortunately, for those of us longing for the ‘good old days,’ technology is here to stay, but it requires being used quickly, efficiently, and with a much greater degree of common sense.