THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- November 22, 2016- Topic 2
India has a fascinating
history with the Decision Review System. It was involved in its conception, was
one of the first two countries to put it to trial, and then became the only
nation to refuse to use it in bilateral engagements. The DRS was a result of
the Sydney Test of 2008, in which consistently poor umpiring created a
fractious atmosphere, leading to some of the ugliest scenes cricket has seen.
The administrators realised that the umpire, the person with the greatest
responsibility on the field, was the least empowered. Television had begun to
provide access to information the umpire would have benefited from, but did
not; yet he was judged on it. India and Sri Lanka were the first to audition it
in a three-Test series in 2008. But it was this very experience that shaped
much of India’s opposition: the argument was that the technology wasn’t
faultless and it allowed room for unskilled human intervention. While the rest
of world cricket embraced the DRS, with a vast majority of players and
virtually every umpire taking the view that it improved the game beyond
measure, India held out for perfection. This it was able to do because of the
influence it wielded in the sport’s administration. But a change in the power
equation at the top and the generational turnover of cricketers saw the
position soften.
The agreement to trial the
DRS during the series against England was viewed by many as a welcome end to
intransigence. But to make so sweeping an assessment is to be dismissive of
India’s reservations. Two significant developments altered matters. The
technology grew more sophisticated: the frame rates of the cameras improved
manifold, from 75 frames a second in 2011 to 340 now, providing more data for
the path of the ball to be predicted; a sound-based edge detection system,
allied to slow-motion cameras, helped establish the first point of impact on
the pad, greatly reducing human intervention. These were direct answers to
India’s questions. The clincher was an independent audit of the system by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It helped to a great extent that Anil
Kumble was involved in a lot of this. He was India’s captain in Australia and
Sri Lanka in 2008, the head of the ICC’s cricket committee when the process of
evaluating the DRS began, and later the national coach. An intelligent,
open-minded man with a degree in engineering, Kumble’s voice carried great
weight. It remains to be seen if India continues to use the system after the
England series. But the signals are that it has accepted it. There is no doubt
that the DRS needs even more refinement and greater standardisation. But with
India now on board, the chances are better of the evolution of an even more
robust system that protects cricket from umpiring errors.
Vocabulary
Fascinate: extremely interesting.
Example: Fascinating facts
Synonyms: interesting, captivating, engrossing, absorbing, enchanting
Fractious: irritable and quarrelsome.
Example: They fight and squabble like fractious children
Synonyms: grumpy, bad-tempered, irascible, irritable, crotchety, grouchy
Ugliest: unpleasant or repulsive, especially in appearance.
Example: She thought she was ugly and fat
Synonyms: unattractive, unappealing, unpleasant, hideous, unlovely
Faultless: free from defect or error.
Example: Your logic is faultless
Synonyms: perfect, flawless, without
fault, error-free, impeccable
Embraced: accept or support a belief, theory, or change
willingly and enthusiastically.
Example: Besides traditional methods, artists are embracing new technology
Synonyms: welcome, welcome
with open arms, accept, take up
Sophisticated: of a machine, system, or technique developed to a high degree of complexity.
Example: Highly sophisticated computer systems
Synonyms: advanced, modern, state
of the art, the latest, new, up-to-the-minute
Clincher: a fact, argument, or event that settles a matter conclusively.
Example: His two-run double was the clincher
Refinement: the process of removing impurities or unwanted elements from a substance.
Example: The refinement of uranium
Synonyms: purification, refining, processing, treatment, treating