The West Indies Cricket Umpires’ Association (WICUA), says it welcomes and supports the use of technology in cricket, but has expressed “doubts about the total accuracy” of the Decision Review System (DRS).

“The Decision Review System does offer some assistance… to be used for this specific purpose of aiding, assisting but not to take away from the personal touch from the umpires,” said the WICUA secretary Vivian Johnson recently.

“The umpires in the region and from Jamaica have welcomed it. We feel though that it should not be overused. I’m not sure if that technology can really take into consideration that bounce of the ball. When it comes to edging a bat/pad, whether a catch is taken cleanly, those are decisions that are consistent with technology… and so with those, we as an umpiring body and as umpires generally don’t have a problem with that,” he added.

However, recently elected president of the regional umpires’ body, Cecil Fletcher expressed doubts about the precision of the DRS, particularly regarding leg-before-wicket (LBW) decisions.

“It’s a good thing but I have my doubts about its total accuracy,” Fletcher cautioned. “Because I watched a clip where the man was out bowled but when they showed the ball on its way to the stumps, it missed.”

The DRS was created to review controversial decisions made by on-field umpires, but its ball tracking method, which is crucial when determining LBW decisions, that has been a major concern for many in the cricketing world.

Following a review at its annual conference last month, the International Cricket Council (ICC) made DRS mandatory for all international matches, save and except that LBW appeals is not compulsory and is dependent upon teams agreeing before the start of a series.

“Maybe it’s work in progress. They might increase it or cut it out all together,” Fletcher said.

“But what it shows is how equipped mentally sometimes an umpire is. How much of a superhuman he seems to be, because there are decisions even with technology the answer cannot be found.”