DRS comes under fire on Twitter as Nathan Lyon controversially ruled not out

DRS comes under fire on Twitter as Nathan Lyon controversially ruled not out

The Decision Review System (DRS) has once again come under scanner as the Australian spinner Nathan Lyon was adjudged not out by the third umpire, even as the Hot Spot technology suggesting he was out.

The incident happened on Day 2 of the historic Day-Night Test between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide, when Lyon was facing debutant spinner Mitchell Santner shortly after tea. The former attempted to sweep a Santner delivery, which brushed passed the back of his bat and went through to first slip after a slight deflection from his shoulder.

As the New Zealand team started celebrating, the field umpires referred the decision to third umpire Nigel Llong, who viewed the replays again and again, stopping the play for more than five minutes. The Hotspot technology showed a white mark on the back of Lyon’s bat and Lyon started walking off the field, assuming he was set to be given out. He was however held back by the umpires. The replays showed change in the ball’s seam.

Snickometer and Hawkeye were subsequently used, however the replay the Hawkeye technology was used on was in fact being run over the wrong delivery. Eventually, Lyon was ruled not out. The decision fetched boos from a frustrated Adelaide crowd and surprise from captain Brendon McCullum and his side.

Almost immediately, former cricketers like Shane Warne and Matthew Hayden tweeted their frustration at the decision as well as the time consumed. The manner in which the entire episode was been handled has created a controversy and has reignited the debate on the use of technology. Here are few top tweets on the issue:

https://twitter.com/TrentWoodhill/status/670500608135180288

https://twitter.com/scgmacgill/status/670484660753862656

https://twitter.com/JimmyNeesh/status/670512947865583616