Technology has made umpiring tougher: Taufel

Former ICC elite panel umpire, Simon Taufel has warned that decision-making in modern-day cricket has become tougher than last two decades, saying extensive use of high-end technology and reviews put more "pressure" on on-field officials.
Taufel also discussed the benefits of the decision review system (DRS), which has come under fire during the ongoing Ashes series following a number of controversial decisions.
"Decision-making in today's game is in my opinion tougher than when I started umpiring 22 years ago because more people see evidence that we may not get to see on the ground at the time," Taufel said during the 13th MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture at Lord's yesterday.

"Anyone who watches the game at the ground, on the giant replay screen or on TV, will assess each and every decision of the umpires and also make an overall judgement of their performance," he said.
"There is no doubt we now have a lot more 'armchair' experts. Today, everyone umpires the game by watching television. The invasive nature of this broadcasting has a double edge to it - it does put more pressure on players and umpires. Not too much now happens on a cricket field that is not captured by a camera, a microphone or piece of technology," he added.

Taufel, however, insisted that he was not against the use of technology in the game.
"The investment by television companies in extra cameras, high-speed frame rates, computer software programs and military infra-red technology, plus high definition has certainly given the spectators a lot more information," he said.
"This has the ability to bring out the best in the game and also the worst.