Heather Knight: Lack of DRS 'shows the status' of women's Test cricket

Heather Knight, England captain says the decision not to use the Decision Review System (DRS) during their historic women's test against South Africa in Bloemfontein was a “sign of the state of the game” after England completed a match 286-run victory on the third afternoon to seal their first win in the format in a decade.

DRS's absence was not the deciding factor in England's comprehensive victory as South Africa collapsed to 64 all out in less than 20 overs in their fourth innings. However, the host board's decision not to spend at least US$48,500 ($880,000) on the technology arguably contributed to the final margin between the teams, with at least three controversial refereeing decisions all against South Africa.

The most interesting of these came in South Africa's second innings, then Lauren Bell requested to catch up Annerie Dercksen which was taken by Tammy Beaumont on short legs.

Dercksen was not given the field by referee Kerrin Klaaste, but after consultation with her colleague, Klaaste called for a referee review, a procedure typically used to determine whether a catch has occurred. However, the ball had gone to Beaumont at chest height – and while it is possible that Klaaste could not see clearly and had to check this again – TV referee Bongale Jele correctly gave the decision as 'out', despite clear doubts that Dercksen had passed the ball to shot inside. on her path.

“We all thought she had hit and the referee obviously delayed the decision,” Knight said. “I think there was a review as to whether it was a bunt ball, but it was pretty clear it wasn't, so I don't know exactly what happened there.”

Mandla Mashimbyi, South Africa's newly installed head coach, was also confused about the process that led to the decision.

“There was no communication and I didn't understand why,” he said. “It was quite bizarre. But the referees think they made the right decision and we cannot argue with that.”

“We make do with what we have. Our job is to make sure we play good cricket. Those are things we have no control over. Obviously we will be disappointed with certain decisions but we cannot change what is there There are people who will be affected by that who are outside this room right now. If I leave it to myself, it might not be fun.

Klaaste was the referee for two other controversial decisions, on days one and two. At first Marizanne Kapp appealed for an lbw against Beaumont, who was at 2 at the time, with the second ball of the match and it was not given out. It seemed like a close call, but Kapp couldn't judge it.

When Kapp was asked on day two if she felt like it was hard, she said, “We're probably disappointed that we were on the wrong side, but it goes both ways. That's just the game. It's never easy for the referees out there. Even Even though you get angry when things don't go your way, it's still a tough task for them to get it right every time.”

The second incident occurred on day two Laura Wolvaardt, on 65, lbw was dealt to Sophie Ecclestone. Her response, which included throwing her hands in the air and walking away shaking her head, suggested she thought she had hit the ball and deserved her demerit point for dissent.

According to Enoch Nkwe, South Africa's director of national teams and high performance, DRS' absence for the Test was agreed by the two boards at the planning stages of the tour. However, Knight claimed the first time she became aware of it was on the eve of the match, after the system had been in use for the six white-ball matches at the start of the tour.

“I was quite shocked when I heard at the referees meeting the day before that it wasn't going to happen,” she said. “I think it's a real shame. You expect it now as a player, and I think the reason is always money. But especially in Test cricket, where wickets are such a premium, it's very important to have. It's probably a sign of the status of this game, maybe we didn't have it, which is a bit frustrating.”

In his pre-match explanation, Nkwe added that the white-ball matches had been prioritized because the matches impacted the team's rankings in T20I cricket and the ICC Women's Championship (IWC), as well as “the overall CSA strategy for the competition.” senior women's national team”.

“It is worth noting that resources are currently being focused on the white-ball formats due to the significance of ODI and T20I cricket in the current international women's cricket landscape,” he said.

During her speech on the second night, Kapp agreed that she preferred DRS in the shorter formats. “It's new that we have DRS available,” she said. “I don't think we had it available for T20s and ODI cricket. So it's really helped in the ODI and T20 series. And if I'm completely honest, I'd probably prefer it in those two formats.”

But whether CSA should be sensible could be debated after they posted a profit of R815 million (US$45.6 million). for the financial year 2023-2024. DRS's costs for this Test match are just over 1% of that money.