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‘More chances should be given to local umpires’, says K.T. Francis
By S.R. Pathiravithana
He is a man of many a first. One of Sri Lanka's most senior international umpires -- K.T. Francis is a person who has commanded respect on and off the field at any of the junctures of his career mid-field.

Francis started his umpiring career in 1969 and thirteen years later -- in 1982 --he was there in the middle for Sri Lanka's historic inaugural Test against England at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium along with Herby Felsinger. In 1994 when the International Cricket Council formed an elite panel of specialist international umpires K.T. became the automatic choice for Sri Lanka. He finished his umpiring career in 1999 after having stood at 25 Test matches and 62 one-day internationals. Then for a short period he had a stint with the then Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka as the Director of Umpiring.

A man with such credentials is amply suited to comment on the duties that he dischagred in the middle making decisions and the game of cricket as a whole. Explaining about the standards of umpiring when he began his career as an international umpire and present status of the job, K.T. Francis said that with the advent of the electronic eye and the third umpire, more pressure has been brought upon the job.

At present they are under more pressure to make the right decisions while in the middle, but at the same time it has brought more prestige and monetary benefits to them. However the only irony that he sees in this present status of elite panel international umpires is that the home umpire will never get a chance of standing at a Test match at home. He said " look at the plight of an English Umpire! Will he ever get a chance of standing at a home Test match at Lord's ?"

When asked what are the remedial measures that he could think of, K.T. said, " Now umpires are chosen to the elite panel after scrutinizing them while standing at home one-day internationals where one home umpire is allowed. As far as I see there is a huge difference between umpiring at a one-day international and a Test match.

At a one-day international a chance of fielders crowding around a batsman for a bat-pad catch is very rare. Especially in the sub-continent this is a feature for the entire duration of a five-day Test. The levels of concentration are different in one-day internationals and Test cricket. Besides the elite panel of now eleven umpires, the ICC also has a supplementary panel of 20 umpires. They can use these umpires for home matches along with one international umpire while playing a Test match which does not have great pressure. Maybe when Sri Lanka is playing against Bangladesh they could use one of these umpires and the points collected at these matches could be looked at more favourably when it comes to elevation. I think this is a better yardstick."

He next focused on the electronic aid that is planned for the umpires. K.T. Francis in his own inimitable way explained -- " At the inception I was vehemently against the usage of the TV for decisions. But, once while standing at a match in New Zealand I ruled a batsman run out without consulting the third umpire, and later I realised that I had made the wrong decision. From that day onwards I go by the third umpire’s decisions. When help is available why not make use of it? It helps the game to improve.

K.T. Francis has stood in the middle making decisions in every Test playing country barring the West Indies. However he lamented that standing at Eden Gardens in India impose greater pressure where the crowd is concerned. 60 to 80 thousand people can put you under tremendous pressure through sheer noise. Coming back to rules and the help that could tbe got from television, K.T. said that it was Sri Lanka which first brought to the notice of the ICC about the bump ball. "At that time they rejected it.

But, now they have given it the green light. Now we have asked the ICC to give a ruling on taking a decision on getting the third umpire's help on the ball pitching outside the leg stump. So far the answer has been negative, but some day soon they will give the greenlight. The day they do it, it will be a great boon for the game as a whole.

Finally commenting on the forthcoming England tour K.T. said " A few years ago the English team was in the doldrums. But, they seem to have learned from their mistakes. Now they are boldly trying out their youngsters and this move is paying dividends and they are at present on a winning streak. Moreover now that they have got themselves acclimatized to the conditions of the sub-continent, the Sri Lankans who are just coming out of a very long break will not find it easy at all."

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