KEY POINTS:
Ross Taylor has been both the victim and beneficiary of dubious catches over the past year, prompting one of New Zealand's most decisive cricketers to wonder if it's time for a greater use of video technology.
Taylor's inconclusive dismissal of Bangladeshi dangerman Mohammad Ashraful before New Zealand cruised to a one-day series-sealing victory in Napier yesterday rankled with the tourists, particularly Ashraful, who sought out the fielder after the match.
Ashraful stood his ground on McLean Park after Taylor celebrated snaffling a cover drive when the captain was on three - a wicket that killed off any faint chances of Bangladesh keeping the three-match series alive by overhauling the Black Caps' 335.
Bangladesh's leading batsman beat a reluctant retreat to the dressing room when umpires Tony Hill (New Zealand) and Australian Peter Parker confirmed the out.
After the match he felt the ball had been caught on the bounce.
Taylor, who appeared confident as he ran to congratulate bowler Kyle Mills, was not as certain today when asked about the legitimacy of the catch.
"I thought I had most of it [the ball]. I went over to the umpires and they gave it out," he said, after the teams arrived in Queenstown for tomorrow's dead rubber.
"All I know is I wasn't 100 per cent sure whether I caught the ball."
He admitted as much to Ashraful in the dressing room after the match and wondered if it was time for contentious catches to be referred to the third umpire.
"I'm not sure of the rule (for referring matters to the third umpire) but maybe technology could come in a bit more."
Currently, catches cannot be referred to the third umpire to study a video replay if umpires had a clear view of the incident.
It is then at their discretion, while the fielder also has a bearing if he knows for sure whether the catch was effected or not.
"It's a difficult situation," Taylor admitted.
"I've seen so many people take catches when they genuinely thought they caught them but they hadn't."
Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan comes to mind, considering Taylor was wrongly given out for a duck in Christchurch in January to what initially appeared to be a classic catch at backward point.
Slow motion replays indicated the ball made contact with the ground before Dilshan scooped it up as he fell.
More recently Gareth Hopkins was given out in the Chappell Hadlee Trophy decider in Hobart on December 20, though replays also cast serious doubt as to whether Michael Clarke caught the ball after it hit the ground.
Though Taylor thought there might be merit in the third umpire's powers being extended, there was also a sense that controversial catches were part and parcel of the game.
"There was nothing really made of it in Christchurch and after [Hobart] we didn't pick up on it. We got thrashed by so much there were other things to talk about."
- NZPA
