ICC should stop coaches interacting with on-field players; time to legalise electronic communication between captain and coach

During the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, we have seen Bangladesh bowling coach Heath Streak advising his bowlers from just outside the boundary line. Alan Donald, the South African bowling coach, did the same today in his team’s match against Sri Lanka.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to empower the coach and on-field captain with communication device than allow them to stroll around the boundary and indulge in on-field coaching. H Natarajan explains why the technological change is the need of the hour.

It’s time the International Cricket Council (ICC) factors the changing face of modern cricket and brings about clarity to what is acceptable and what is not in the conduct of the game.

During the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, we have seen Bangladesh bowling coach Heath Streak advising his bowlers from just outside the boundary line. Alan Donald, the South African bowling coach, did the same on Wednesday in his team’s match against Sri Lanka.

The mind goes back in time to another World Cup match. On May 15, 1999, Hansie Cronje plugged-in an earpiece to receive instructions from coach Bob Woolmer during South Africa’s opening  match against India — an experiment that Donald too was co-incidentally part of. Cronje and Donald nonchalantly wore the earpiece and took the field.

Though the all-pervasive television cameras spotted the earpiece, the commentators did not think much about the contraption. It was just before the drinks break Indian captain Sourav Ganguly noticed Cronje talking to himself. The quick-thinking Ganguly promptly reported the matter to the on-field umpires, David Shepherd and Steve Bucknor.

The umpires learnt that Bob Woolmer was piping instructions into the earpiece. Since the law was silent on the issue, the matter was referred to match referee Talat Ali. After hasty confabulations with the ICC, Cronje and Donald were asked to remove the earpiece because it was classified as an unfair strategy.

Woolmer was a progressive man. It was he who introduced the concept of laptop into cricket. He was a tech-friendly man, far ahead of his times. Woolmer was honest, but he admitted he erred. “All I was trying to do was give help and advice. I’m sorry if I’ve upset anyone. I’ve tried to be innovative; the idea was to take the game forward. Where we erred was I should have asked the ICC for permission. Perhaps I’m naïve, but it didn’t occur to me. I felt it was a really good idea and I would like to discuss it with the ICC,” he said.

We have repeatedly seen the charade of reserve players running on to the field to pass on instructions. Even someone with a sub-35 Intelligent Quotient knows the purpose of the reserves running on to the field, especially when they run with gloves or bat which the batsmen have not asked for! Yet, the charade continues and the ICC remains mute witnesses.

Frankly, I think the time has come when team should be given the option of using the communication technology, if they so desire. This is not only being in sync with the changing demands of the game but it will also save need less time wastage caused by substitutes running on to the field.

There could a section of people who may be wondering if such a move would encourage passing on information from fixers. Modern dressing rooms are sanitised by the ICC during international matches. Mobile phones are banned during the course of the game and there are ICC sleuths at all games. Entry into the dressing room is also restricted. Even a high-ranking board official would not be allowed entry into the dressing room during the match if he is not part of the contingent and if his photo is not with the ICC sleuth among those allowed entry into the private domain of the dressing room.

If anything, the ICC is actually giving the opportunity to coaches going around the ground to pass on undesirable information to the fielders on the fence. There is nothing to prevent from a bookie taking a strategic place around the ground and offering an autograph book through which he could pass on the information to the coach, who in turn can pass it on to the fielders. I’m not casting any aspersions on either Heath or Donald or anybody in particular. All, I’m suggesting is that the above stroll around the ground opens up the possibility of what I said, while allowing an earpiece makes lot more sense in many ways.

The ICC has already allowed communication between on-field umpires and the third umpire in case of a TV referral for the knock-out stage of the ongoing World Cup. Apart from making the game interesting, it also allows for transparency. Will the ICC now empower the coaches and captains with the communication earpiece and show that they are indeed a progressive governing body?

(H Natarajan is a journalistic schizophrenic who oscillates between two polar opposite forms of writing — analytical and insightful on the one hand, and rib-tickling humour on the other)