England in SA
Flower: I prefer the old style
2009-12-22 14:13
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Durban - England coach Andy Flower on Tuesday expressed his unhappiness with the umpire's decision review system (UDRS) being trialled in the test series with South Africa.
"I can't say that I am enjoying the review system that much but it is here to stay for the series so we will deal with it as well as we can," Flower told a news conference.
"I don't like the questioning of the umpires and the delay as players discuss whether or not to question an umpire's decision.
"I personally prefer the old style where the umpire makes a decision and you just get on with it. It was nice and simple but the new system just seems to be leading to more and more complications."
England lost seven of their own reviewed decisions in the drawn first test at Centurion and all-rounder Stuart Broad was seen remonstrating with the on-field umpires after being given out lbw following a South Africa referral.
Broad's on-field argument centred on whether or not the home side had taken too long to ask for a referral. The initial guidelines set down by the International Cricket Council (ICC) said referrals had to be called for within a few seconds.
South Africa took over 30 seconds to ask for a referral against Broad but Flower explained: "In our pre-series meeting with the match referee it was emphasised that it was okay to take a little longer over decisions.
"The on-field umpires will discern whether a decision to review has taken too long but there is no set time-limit."
The second Test starts on Saturday at Kingsmead in Durban.