Cricket: England lodge complaint

England have vented their fury at being denied a key wicket against South Africa by making an official complaint to the match referee - with the focus of their ire the Umpire Review System in general but also elite umpire Daryl Harper in particular.

The tourists want the International Cricket Council and the world to know they are extremely angry at a decision that may have undermined their chances of winning their test series against South Africa. It could easily bring an adjournment or a termination to Harper's career at the top.

Harper, the third umpire in the fourth test, is responsible for reviewing verdicts on TV replays. He decided that South Africa opener Graeme Smith had not edged the ball when he was on 15.

Smith, who would go on to make a thunderous 105 to put his side in total command of the match, had already been given not out caught behind by on-field umpire Tony Hill.

But so convinced were England that the noise they heard was the ball shaving Smith's bat that they immediately asked for a review.

It transpired that Harper had not turned up the volume on his stump microphone, presumably having not properly taken in the protocol that was agreed for this series with regard to stump microphones.

England coach Andy Flower confirmed that he had twice been to see match referee Roshan Mahanama about the incident.

"I first asked for clarification on the process and he explained that the match referee gets a different audio feed to Sky television," he said. "'We found out that wasn't correct and one audio feed is used for everyone, and the second time he said that Daryl Harper had not switched up the volume.

"The South Africa captain, Graeme Smith, made a century after escaping dismissal volume on his mic and that is why we have heard the nick but the third umpire hasn't. If it wasn't such a serious match for us, I would have found it amusing. I think it's very disappointing. They said they did not deem it necessary to turn up the volume. It does not reflect well on the ICC."

Smith meanwhile simply denied that he had hit it. "There definitely was a noise but I didn't feel that I touched the ball," he said. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. I thought it was my thumb on the handle."

Flower had no argument with the original on-field decision made by Hill, which allowed Smith his initial reprieve, saying: "The umpire makes an honest decision based on what he sees and hears."

But he found it difficult to understand the actions of Harper, who has made mistakes before both with and without technology. He is on the ICC's elite list but his status must be under threat if he loses the faith of the players.

"I have seen it and it is very clearly an edge," said Flower. "There are a couple of things we find illogical. Number one is that we don't use the technology for no balls and there have been a couple of incidents when Kevin Pietersen and Graeme Smith have been out to no balls in this series.

"Number two is that Dave Richardson, the ICC cricket manager, and Roshan Mahanama before the series explained to us that, in the absence of a snickometer or hot spot, they would use an increased volume on stump mic for catches behind. They would turn up the volume for referrals, and we find it disappointing they deemed this unnecessary."

Part of the problem, apart from Harper's apparent poor interpretation of the incident, is the lack of standardised technology. In the series between England and South Africa, the only aid for possible edged catches is the stump microphone, hardly conclusive evidence. But in the current series between Australia and Pakistan, officials have the use of Hot Spot, a gadget based on heat technology which shows whether ball did indeed make contact with bat.

Unfortunately, there are only four Hot Spot cameras in the world and the cost of using them in a series is around £5 million, well out of the reach of the impecunious South African Broadcasting Corporation, the rights holder in this series.

The only way to avoid embarrassments and to create a level playing field is for the ICC to pay the bills. Otherwise cricket will look daft on many more occasions. Hot Spot is not foolproof - nothing is - but it would have done the trick in this case.

England meanwhile have a match to save as well as technology to worry about. Smith's century took South Africa to 215-2 before storms washed out most of the second day.

South Africa, looking to level the series 1-1 after dismissing England for 180 in their first innings, took a 35-run lead as rain allowed only 3.5 overs to be played after the tea break. Play had also been suspended for an hour before tea.

Before the bad weather frustrated the players, captain Smith dominated all the England bowlers and smashed 16 fours while notching up 105 off 187 balls. Ryan Sidebottom ended his run when he had him caught at slip by Andrew Strauss off a delivery that seamed away from the bat.

The wicket was especially satisfying for Sidebottom, as he was the bowler when Smith was given not out by Harper.

Smith and Hashim Amla added 165 in three hours for the second wicket, with Amla stroking a composed 73 not out.

- INDEPENDENT