Warner “annoyed” and “frustrated” at DRS decision against SL: Report

PTI, Oct 18, 2023, 12:40 PM IST

Veteran Australia opener David Warner is ”annoyed” and ”frustrated” at the DRS call which went against him in his side’s World Cup match against Sri Lanka and has called for more ”accountability” in the system, according to a report.

In the match, which Australia won by five wickets in Lucknow on Monday, Warner fell LBW to Sri Lanka pacer Dilshan Madushanka. The left-hander went for review but the DRS call went in favour of the on-field umpire, who had originally given him out. The prolific southpaw, who was batting on 11, left the ground fuming. He was seen smashing his bat against his pad and turned back to yell towards the wicket as he walked off.

Warner said he wanted greater transparency on how DRS decisions were adjudicated.

”I’ve never had Hawk-Eye come in and explain to us how the technology actually works, it’s just for the TV,” the 36-year-old was quoted as saying by ‘cricket.com.au’ after Australia’s five-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Monday.

”If they could come in and explain to us how it works, then sometimes we might (choose) not to refer or to refer.” According to the report, Warner suggested that the ball-tracking did not match what he saw on the ground’s replay screen after he called for the review.

”I asked Joel (field umpire) when I was out there just what happened, why did he give it out. He said the ball was swinging back so to his credit, if he thinks that then that’s why he’s given a decision.

”(The ball) kept low and normally when something hits me on the leg on the outside, I know it’s pretty much going down leg. So he (Wilson) said it was swinging back, (but) from my perspective on the replay, it wasn’t,” he said.

”When you see the replay of how it unfolded you get a little bit annoyed, (but) that’s out of our control.” Warner also felt, according to the report, that ball-tracking verdicts were ”taking a lot longer than what it would be in Australia”.

The Decision Review System was introduced in 2008, ahead of Warner’s international debut in 2009.

”At the moment, we seem to be waiting for (ball-tracking),” said Warner. ”And as a player you get more frustrated because you think: ‘did they line it up, what’s the impact points, how many impact points are there before it goes on’.

”In England, the ball bounces and it actually moves once it’s bounced, not just off the seam but in the air it can move, so there’s just little things that as a player you get frustrated because there’s no explanation … but there has to be some accountability.” The ICC has not announced any sanction for Warner’s outburst but he insisted his furious reaction was due to his frustration with the technology.

”I just sprayed out loud in frustration pretty much just (to) myself,” said Warner.