'These guys are good'

'Those officials have reached the top level because they have demonstrated a consistent level of high performance' © Getty Images

It is time to tell the truth: our umpires are human. Sometimes, reading criticism of decisions they make, I wonder if people realise it and believe, instead, we have sent infallible robots out to do a job that is widely acknowledged as one of the hardest in sport.

Unlike robots, however, these umpires are human and sometimes they make mistakes. But that is no reason to believe we have a serious problem with umpiring at the highest level.

After all, players make mistakes. They drop catches, bowl bad balls and play poor shots. If someone was dropped every time they messed up then touring sides would have to take vast armies of players around with them to keep up with the changes in personnel required.

Players are retained because selectors believe they are good enough and one mistake or even a run of poor performances does not change that fact. The same is true of our Emirates Elite and International Panel umpires.

Those officials have reached the top level because they have demonstrated a consistent level of high performance, something that is backed up by the statistics we have gathered on every decision they make.

Take last year, 2004-05, for example. In Tests and ODIs our umpires were called upon to make more than 3700 decisions. Out of that number they were right 94.8% of the time in Tests with a 93.4% success rate in ODIs.

To put that into context, the previous year, from April 2003 to March 2004 saw the umpires get it right 91.4% of the time in Tests and 90.9% in ODIs, figures that suggest standards are improving rather than declining.

How do we arrive at our figures? Our assessment does not simply involve an occasional glimpse at the television in our offices in Dubai or a casual chat with someone who happened to be at any given match; it is a thorough process in keeping with the fact we are involved in sport at the very highest level.

We analyse feedback reports from not only the ICC match referee who keeps a log of all appeals and all other matters involving the umpires such as decisions relating to bad light, wides and handling of player behaviour but also the two captains playing in each match and also generate DVDs of every decision an umpire gives - whether out or not out.

Every decision on each DVD is assessed independently and a report is prepared for the umpire by the ICC's Umpires and Referees Manager who forwards the DVD to that official so he can analyse his own performance as well. Once that has been done the umpire will then discuss its contents with the Manager.

Of course, there is no point in shying away from the fact that the percentages from this year so far are marginally down on last year's figures. Mistakes have been made, some of them high profile, but that does not alter the fact we believe in our officials and, together with them all, are committed to excellence as our number one priority. Our goal is to reach consistent levels of performance where umpires are getting 95-96% of their decisions correct. Our focus over the next few years will be to assist the umpires in achieving this goal.

Would technology help? In some cases it may and in others, such as line decisions, we know it definitely does. Sometimes it simply confuses matters further. Yes is the simple answer but when and how it should be used are more difficult. We are happy to explore whether and how its use can be extended and have conducted experiments over the past three years, the latest of them during October's Johnnie Walker Super Series, to see if it would offer additional value.

We are still assessing the results of that latest trial but crucial in any decision to increase the role of the third umpire would be whether or not such a move would compromise the flow of the game, something that could happen if there was a constant flow of referrals.

Because of that we have to be sure a switch to increased technology will materially increase the numbers of correct decisions and, at the moment, the jury is still out on that one. And on top of that there is also our duty to ensure the game that takes place in front of millions of fans is not too far removed from the one that is played by enthusiasts throughout the world every day of the year.

Do we have enough umpires on the Emirates Elite Panel? Right now there are seven following the retirement of David Shepherd this year and that figure may be added to in the future but whilst we will ensure that umpires are not overburdened (at the moment they are required to stand in approximately 10 Tests and 12 ODIs per year - 62 days) we will not promote umpires onto that panel just for the sake of increasing numbers.

Any umpire that joins the Emirates Elite Panel will be there because their performances merit that promotion and so the fact it has been made up of just seven officials over the past five months has, in some ways, been very helpful.

It has allowed us to appoint and assess members of the Emirates International Panel in the high pressure environment of overseas Test cricket and the way they have performed will help in our decision-making process about the make up of the Elite Panel for the coming year.

We know umpiring at the highest level is a tough task. Aside from the pressure out in the middle, both from the increased analysis of their decisions through the excellent television coverage but also from players, it also involves large chunks of time away from home and family and that can be hard to deal with.

It requires officials to make sacrifices and in the past there have been times when some of them have been, perhaps understandably, reluctant to do so. What we are trying to do now is to make umpiring an attractive career option and those that make it to the top and stay there will be rewarded accordingly.

And our commitment is to find the best umpires wherever they are, not simply to choose the best from the Test-playing Members of the ICC. That was our thinking behind the formation of the Associate and Affiliate Panel in April 2005.

That Panel offers officials from the 86 Members outside the Test arena a pathway to umpiring at the highest level and already it is bearing fruit: we have umpires from Bermuda, Germany, Ireland and Indonesia standing in February's ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka.

As for critics of our umpires they are entitled to their views but I would ask just one thing: when you judge an umpire, do not do so after you have seen the third replay; do it before, from the live action or even after the first two. And if they have got it wrong remember they are not biased, cheats or racists but, like wicketkeepers, only human.

They only get one view of each decision they have to make and they get it right the vast majority of the time. These guys are good.