November 22 Friday 2002
I was in my rights to stand ground: Vaughan

ADELAIDE: English opener Michael Vaughan was adamant he should not have walked after a controversial catch ruling went his way against Australia on Thursday.

The Yorkshire right-hander stubbornly stood his ground when, on 19, the Australians celebrated what they thought was a diving catch by Justin Langer in the covers off Andy Bichel. The verdict went to third umpire Steve Davis who, after repeated viewings of replays, gave Vaughan the benefit of the doubt.

Vaughan was finally out three balls before scheduled stumps when he edged Bichel to Shane Warne for 177. He batted for 371 minutes, faced 306 balls and hit 22 fours and three sixes. "At first I thought I was gone," Vaughan said of the disputed catch.

"But there was a suspicion in my mind that the ball had touched the ground, that's why I stood my ground. "The umpire asked for the replays and they suggested the ball had touched the ground. I'm in my right to do that. I didn't make the rules that you can call for the replays, but now they've done that I think a lot of batsmen will do exactly what I did today." Vaughan described his knock, which was the highest by an Englishman in Australia since Mike Denness scored 188 in the final Test in Melbourne in 1974-1975, as the best of his career. "That's probably the best century," said Vaughan. "The Australians are always asking questions, they have a fantastic attack... to score a hundred against Australia in Australia has to be the pinnacle."

Vaughan's refusal to walk has re-focused the debate on the issue of technology in the use of appeals -- and Australia coach John Buchanan said players are suffering. "Justin honestly believes he took the catch and that's good enough for me," Buchanan said. "Some replays actually showed he did, others were inconclusive."

Buchanan said responsibility for the dismissals had to be referred back to players, rather than relying on inconclusive video technology. "There's probably confusion in the minds of everyone because while the ICC (International Cricket Council) rule is invoked, that is being able to refer catches to the third umpire, then there will be an element of 'if we wait then technology may rule in our favour'," he said.

"My view is that we should use technology provided that is reliable and valid." Buchanan said in his discussions with teams around the world he has found that there is a belief that the technology is not providing the answers that it was designed to.