Former Australian bowler, Mitchell Johnson believes that the Decision Review System (DRS) has to be discarded until the technology improves significantly. Johnson reaffirmed what the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been persistently pursuing – the scrapping of the review system.
Johnson, who had retired from international cricket last year, expressed his opinion on the DRS in his column for News Corp. The 34-year-old believed that the decision made by the on-field umpires should remain until there is an appreciable improvement in the technology used.
“In my mind, we need to decide if we want to use technology properly or not use it at all. To be honest, I’d be happy if they left everything to the on-field umpires. I’m happy to have no DRS – cricket worked pretty well without it for over 100 years.
“I tend to agree with India’s perspective on the DRS debate – it’s either got to be spot on, or not used at all. If we can make sure that technology is used to get the right decision every time, then that’s great. But until then, I’m not so sure,” Johnson said.
The bowler from Queensland was critical of the way the no-ball call let Adam Voges off the hook in the first Test between New Zealand and Australia in Wellington last week. Voges, who was bowled by Doug Bracewell when the batsman was just on seven. Richard Illingworth ruled the ball to be a no-ball, while replays showed that the umpire was wrong. Voges went to score a double hundred and was named the man-of-the-match after guiding his side to an innings victory.
“It worked out pretty well for Vogesy and I’m really happy for him but, as a bowler, I can tell you it’s very annoying when I see that stuff happen. Bowlers are checked for a no-ball almost every time they take a wicket, so it’s a bit strange that it can’t work the other way. Surely the third umpire could intervene?” Johnson questioned.
Johnson had an illustrious international career as he picked up 590 wickets in 256 matches at an average of 26.65. In the 2013 Ashes, Johnson picked up a mammoth 37 wickets as he consistently ran through the England batting order.
The bowler will be featuring for Kings XI Punjab in the upcoming Indian Premier League season, and Johnson has been keeping himself fit.
“Just this week, I shook off the cobwebs by having a bowl in the nets and I was pleased to discover that I still had the competitive edge in me. I’ll get into more bowling over the coming weeks but seeing as I haven’t played any cricket for a while, I’m really just testing the waters at the moment,” Johnson said.
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