Whippy said:
However, the referral system exists to spot what the on-field umpires have failed to spot, and the no-ball was replayed on a big screen in slow motion over and over again. absolutely unacceptable, a complete disgrace that should cost Harper (who is the 3rd umpire today) his place on the elite panel.
Absolutely no issues with your suggestion that Harper is not good enough to be on the Elite Panel. However, I would disagree that the no-ball was a definite. It was
probably a no-ball - but if you read the Cricinfo commentary (written by Andrew Miller, an Englishman), and follow the discussion of South African fans, it appears that there exist
reasonable grounds for doubt - ie, there is a body of opinion, perhaps a minority body, that supports Harper's call of not awarding the no-ball.
This would indicate that at best there is a millimetre or two in it; English supporters and many commentators believe it was no-ball. South Africans, and a few of the commentators, at least, believe it was not a no-ball. Hence, there was doubt - Harper gave the benefit of this doubt to the bowler (
which might be the norm when it comes to judging no-balls... at least, it should be, IMHO).
Not an obvious howler then. The review system exists to correct obvious howlers, such as the one by Harper in the third Test. If it doesn't do that, the third umpire should be immediately sacked. In this instance, it was a debatable line call, with a millimetre in it - Harper might be wrong, but not obviously so.