Vettori quizzes referee on review system decisions

The New Zealand camp described it as "a casual chat" but captain Daniel Vettori did front ICC match referee Javagal Srinath for a please explain, after another day in which the player review system looked an ass.

There were four called yesterday, and one on Saturday, the last of which ended the Black Caps' first innings at 157.

It was patently wrong too, with Tim Southee given out when he clearly didn't hit the ball, prompting Vettori to head up into the eaves of the RA Vance Stand to chat with Srinath as openers BJ Watling and Tim McIntosh were about to begin New Zealand's second innings.

Coach Mark Greatbatch first tried to pretend the Vettori-Srinath discussion hadn't taken place, then had a think about it when it was clear that others knew it had.

"I'm unsure about that, mate," Greatbatch began.

Following some to-and-fro with a member of the media, the tune changed slightly as Greatbatch expressed reservations about the referrals.

"It would be fair to say that with the system at the moment, it's a little bit inconsistent. We just asked the question whether the system in place at the moment is consistent and the match referee said `yes'."

Southee, Watling and Ross Taylor were all given out after their decisions were reviewed , while Brendon McCullum survived one plumb lbw shout when it was revealed Ryan Harris' delivery was a no-ball.

The Southee one was very average, while Greatbatch was also a little miffed at how Watling could have been given out leg before for 33 in New Zealand's second innings when the replays couldn't conclusively reveal whether the ball from Doug Bollinger had pitched on or outside leg stump.

"I'm not sure whether the technology they've got there is good enough," Greatbatch said.

"Obviously, today there was one with BJ Watling, I don't think they had the actual technology they were looking for, as accurate as they could."

He also shook his head when asked if there was any way that Southee had hit the ball that both on-field umpire Asad Rauf and third umpire Aleem Dar gave him out for.

However, that decision did not alter the fact that Australia were taking wickets where New Zealand couldn't.

Bowling is not Greatbatch's area of expertise, but he did say the batting of Vettori at No6 would be reviewed.

- © Fairfax NZ News