The entire cricket world should celebrate the 25th anniversary of the publication of the ‘Player Referral’ concept in the ‘Australian’ newspaper ( March 25, 1997) which led to the formulation of the DRS
Posted on March 22nd, 2022
Senaka Weeraratna
Shashi Tharoor, the celebrated Indian writer, and author, recently expressed his views on the impact that the Decision Review System (DRS) has had on the modern game, and he stated unequivocally that it has been one of cricket’s best innovations. Tharoor further said that international cricket should never be without DRS in the future, given how many errors technology prevents.
DRS is such a major innovation. I never want to see international cricket without DRS ever again. It is so indispensable and eliminates so many bad decisions, and it creates an additional form of excitement for the viewer. It adds an extra element of tension to the plot and it is a very welcome addition as far as I’m concerned,” Tharoor said.
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‘The second highest circulating Sinhala newspaper in Sri Lanka the ‘ Silumina’ has published an article on March 19, 2022 written by Bandula Jayamanne, the Deputy Sports Editor of ‘Silumina’, saying that it is not only those who contribute within the boundary to cricket that are important but also those who contribute to cricket from outside the boundary.
The headline of the article is that though DRS had its birth in Australia, the father of DRS is a Sri Lankan. The 25th anniversary of my publication in the prestigious national newspaper ‘Australian’ on March 25, 1997, as a
Letter to the Editor under the title ‘ The Third Umpire must perform Role of an Appeal Judge’ falls on March 25, 2022.
The concept of ‘ Player Referral’ which is the lynchpin of the DRS was first aired on that day. It was given birth on March 25, 1997, in Australia, as I was then living in Darwin, Australia. The rest of the cricket world embraced this idea shortly afterward with publications in ‘ London Times’, The Melbourne ‘ Sunday Age’, Pakistan ‘ Dawn’, Cricketer’ Magazine published in London by Richard Hutton, and almost all Sri Lankan newspapers e.g. Sunday Times, Sunday Island, Daily News, etc.
The entire cricket world should celebrate this anniversary. My article and my brainchild ‘Player Referral’ changed the way the game of cricket is being played. The Silumina article questions whether I am denied due credit by the cricket fraternity because I am not white.
Senaka Weeraratna