Martin Crowe's Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's

Date released: 11 July 2006

In a wide-ranging and hard-hitting Cowdrey Lecture, delivered at Lord's tonight (Tuesday 11th July), Martin Crowe - the former New Zealand batsman - put forward a number of radical ideas for safeguarding the Spirit of Cricket and improving the game.

'Hawkeye' and new technology

First, Martin Crowe called for a fresh look to be taken at the use of 'Hawkeye'. Its technology was impressive and it was fascinating for viewers to see exactly how the ball had moved from the bowler's hand, through the air and off the pitch. However, he was concerned that, after the ball had become 'dead', viewers saw a prediction of how it might have moved, over the next few feet, towards the stumps.

In his words: "This particular use of 'Hawkeye' worries me. I question whether it should be predicting what the path of the ball might be. I stress the word 'might', as it is only hypothetical after all; a scientific guess. I am also uncomfortable with predicting a path that goes against what the umpire had just decided. I just don't believe it is in the Spirit of Cricket".

He thought, though, that there were other ways in which Hawkeye could be used for the benefit of the game: for example, in the case of LBW appeals it could help to determine whether a ball had pitched outside the line of leg stump or whether it had struck a batsman outside the line of off stump. If 'Hawkeye' was to be used to help make such decisions in international cricket, it would be important for it to be used in an entirely consistent way, from country to country; at the moment, some country's broadcasters could afford to utilise it while others could not. A solution, he suggested, might involve the International Cricket Council owning the 'Hawkeye' technology and then to "providing it to all host broadcasters around the world, so the use of it by umpires is consistent everywhere".

Umpires and no-ball calls

Because even the results from impressive technology could be far from foolproof, in practical situations, Martin Crowe explained that his instinct was always to trust the umpires. He said: "Overall, in my view, umpires still have the best view; they see and hear everything in real time and they see everything as three-dimensional. The best umpires have an enhanced sense of sight, [and] sound, and an instinctive feel for the game. The best umpires have the nerve, the concentration, the experience and knowledge and - especially if they have been former players - they have the instinctive ability to make the right call under the severest of pressures".

There was one area, he said, in which they could easily be helped - by letting them adjudicate on no balls by watching the back, not front, foot. This would give them more time to refocus from the bowler's to the batsman's end. If it was decided to retain the existing front foot rule, he argued in favour of the third umpire using technology to call any over-stepping. However, far from reducing the on-field umpires' role, Martin Crow was keen for their overall responsibilities to be enhanced. In particular, instances of throwing should be determined by umpires, with the naked eye, rather than through the subsequent use of slow-motion replays and the appliance of degrees of tolerance.

Elite international umpires

Reiterating the importance of umpiring, Martin Crowe called for members of the ICC Elite Panel to be chosen purely on merit, and without any regard to their nationality. "We must select the best", he said, "no matter where they come from." He continued: "The fact that Peter Willey isn't still out there in international cricket is a real shame. It's mainly because he doesn't wish to be away from home so often. I don't blame him. So let's accommodate him. Even if only for part of the year, let's keep ensuring the best are there, maintaining the highest standard possible."

He also called for the size of the Elite Panel to be increased and for the appointed officials to share on-field and third umpire duties, during the course of a day's play, to help keep umpires "fresh and quality-orientated". It was also important, he argued, for the Elite umpires to have an attractive income and for suitable players to be identified and then trained in a new, 'fast-track' approach to umpire recruitment and development.

Meaningless matches and player burn-out

Turning to the amount of international cricket that is being played, Martin Crowe criticised the current match schedules which, he said, resulted in "far too many meaningless matches" and the on-set of player burn-out. "The rest periods betwen tours and tournaments", he said, "are becoming less and less; the injuries more and more".

To tackle these problems, he called for a restructuring of the World Cup, an overall reduction (of "at least ten per cent") in the amount of international cricket that is played, and a new "triple treble" concept for tours - which would involve "three Tests, three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches". This new concept would, he argued, "cater for the purist, the fan and the fringe supporters of cricket. Three types of supporter being satisfied and three different types of intensity for the player".

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh

A suitable reduction in the amount of international cricket could be achieved,he suggested, by ending the Test status currently enjoyed by both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Bangladesh, he argued, had suffered as a result of so little first-class cricket now being played by international touring teams. He pointed out: "When Sri Lanka toured the world in the 1980s, they prepared for Tests by playing first-class games on tour, like countries before them did. These days there is barely any preparation at all. Therefore Bangladesh is learning how to play first-class cricket at Test level, which is never going to work."

Zimbabwe, he argued, was simply "not up to international standard" - even if one ignored the question of whether "a country where cricket is so inter-related with its shocking politics should be dignified with international cricket status".

He regretted that both countries appeared to have been kept on the international stage for political, rather than cricketing, reasons.

Two-innings cricket, even in three-hour matches

Finally, Martin Crowe applauded innovations which enabled people to watch cricket at times which suited them. "Whatever the name or brand", he said, "three hour cricket is an absolute necessity as a choice for supporting the game". His sole concern, he added, was the one innings format of Twenty20 cricket. Based on cricket's long history, and his experience of 'Cricket Max' in New Zealand, he thought that a two innings format would provide spectators with greater entertainment, unpredictability and fun.

"The Spirit of Cricket", he concluded, "is about the behaviour of players on the field - acceptance of decisions, respect for one another, integrity. But it is also about an enthusiasm for the game; not just aggression but also to share a sense of fun. And fun is what life is all about."