Call to broaden scope of line camera

Port Elizabeth - Television engineer expert Bill Burrow has stepped into the "Kallis catch" row with the view that improved technology could eliminate the problem that faced umpire Rudi Koertzen in the second Test at St George's Park.

While the English dressing room was still fuming over the incident, Burrow, the man whose Pretoria company designed the pan-a-eye camera used in line decisions, said there was the need for a wide-angle lens which would expand the scope of the picture to also include the slips cordon.

The executive manager of an electronics firm which has perfected the line camera, said there was a need to experiment to get the angle right but it could be done. There would be an added cost factor as well with the need for eight cameras as part of the experiment.

"We are working on eight cameras to cover all angles of the rugby TV replays next year," he said yesterday. "I simply cannot see why this experiment cannot also be extended to cover a broader scope such as we have in the Tests and limited overs internationals."

Burrow, whose link with the UCB and line camera decisions date back to November 1994 when it was used for the first time. Whether the use of a wide-angled lens to cover such incidents is a grey area in terms of International Cricket Council regulations. At this stage the line camera work is used only for line decisions: run outs, hit wicket and stumpings: It is known though that the TV umpire had also asked to see if the pan-a-eye cameras had picked up anything. As with the other cameras, however, what evidence was inconclusive.

It is similar to an incident at Lord's earlier this year during the Test against New Zealand when 29 cameras at the ground failed to accurately video a similar catch incident involving Aftab Habib and Dion Nash. Some 15 minutes later the Sky ultra slow-mo, which caught Chris Adams in the act on Sunday, blew up the incident.

Yet there are still those who are unconvinced that it was a "catch" as they feel "the evidence was inconclusive".