THIRD umpire Daryl Harper has been cleared of any blame for the failings in the use of the umpire decision review system (DRS) during England’s Test against South Africa at the Wanderers in January. The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Lockie-Lloyd enquiry, convened in response to an official complaint from the England and Wales Cricket Board over Harper’s decision-making in the match, found in favour of Harper on all three incidents under investigation.
The most contentious issue came when Proteas captain Graeme Smith, on 15, swung cross-batted away from his body and edged Ryan Sidebottom to keeper Matt Prior and television replays clearly indicated the noise of a nick. Smith was reprieved after Harper was unable to detect the noise, and went on to make 105.
England coach Andy Flower and ECB chairman Giles Clarke later accused the Australian official of failing to turn up the volume on his video feed – a suggestion dismissed by the enquiry as “both manifestly wrong and entirely unfair”.
The verdict of the enquiry – conducted by ICC cricket committee chairman Clive Lloyd and advocate Brent Lockie, an ICC code of conduct commissioner – continued: “The volume control had been set by technicians, and they did not operate or adjust the volume control during the entire series.
“However, differing sounds were heard on the footage of the various broadcasters, namely SABC, Supersport and Sky. The enquiry concluded that it was most likely that the actual sound feed coming through to the third umpire’s room was lost at the crucial time.”
It was also adjudged that Harper had reached the correct decisions in giving England’s Alastair Cook out in England’s first innings and in giving South Africa’s AB de Villiers not out in South Africa’s first innings. (Eurosport)