'Strange' DRS rule could be tweaked: Finch

Aaron Finch believes a "strange" quirk of the Decision Review System guidelines could, in time, be tweaked after Australia were denied an lbw review that satisfied all the requirements of the laws of the game for the second time in as many Tests.

Struggling to fight their way into the second Test late on day two after squandering a 137-run deficit in Abu Dhabi, Australia  thought they had Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali dismissed on 53, but the No.3 survived a reviewed lbw shout off Jon Holland because he had been struck more than three metres away from the stumps.

Holland's delivery had pitched in line with the woodwork, hit Azhar in line and ball-tracking showed it would have gone on to hit the stumps, yet the right-hander was adjudged to be not out due to a nuance of the DRS's regulations.

The 'three-metre' rule isn't actually part of the Laws of Cricket, but rather was added to the ICC's playing conditions in 2011 due to a belief ball-tracking technology is less accurate the further it has to predict a ball to travel.

Finch admits Australia were not aware of the rule until they were denied the wicket of Haris Sohail in identical fashion during the first Test off Nathan Lyon.

"We didn’t really know about it until last Test, about the three metres," Finch told reporters after Australia went to stumps trailing Pakistan by 281.

"Pitching in line, hitting in line, hitting the stumps, to me that’s strange. I understand the element of predicting the path of the ball. That’s something that’s gone against us a couple of times, but that’s the game, that’s the rule, and we’ve just got to deal with it.

"As the technology improves ...I  think in time it will be 100 per cent accurate, or 99 per cent accurate. Rules like that are always tinkered or changed slightly."

As he did after the Sohail decision in Dubai, captain Tim Paine took the issue up with on-field umpires on Wednesday, holding an extended discussion after stumps were called.

Asked about the talks between Paine and umpires, Finch said: "Yeah it was just a bit of confusion again. Where they’re three metres down the wicket, if it's still hitting the stumps and hitting in line, can we tinker the rule?

"I know it's sounding sour at the moment because we've been on the receiving end, but it's certainly not. We understand where the rule's at now. But maybe if it's hitting in line and if all three are still red, maybe there's a chance to overturn it."

The issue of giving batsmen out when they've advanced down the wicket has proved a divisive one.

The view of former Australia batsman Dean Jones that umpires can't conceivably give an lbw when the batter is struck so far down the wicket reflects a traditional outlook held by many.

But international umpires have proved increasingly willing in recent years to give out what would previously have been laughable appeals, the most famous example for Australian fans being the Steve Smith call at the WACA off Keshav Maharaj two years ago.

While Australia might have already played themselves into an unwinnable position when Azhar was spared, a late wicket would have brightened the mood of the Australian camp having earlier been bowled out for just 145.

Acknowledging his side had also let Pakistan off the hook on day one after reducing them to 5-57, Finch lamented another first-innings batting failure following on from their collapse of 10-60 in their first dig of last week's series-opener

"That first innings is always key to set up the game," Finch said. "We've seen Pakistan in the first Test go really big in the first innings and that gives them freedom in the second innings to play as aggressive as they want or as conservative as they want.

"Same again in this game, we've left ourselves a little bit too far behind the game. So as soon as (Fakhar) Zaman (who has scored 94 and 66 on debut) comes out and plays aggressively … then all of a sudden you're unsure whether to keep your catchers in or retreat and try to control the scoreboard.

"That's the beauty of going big in your first innings, you control the game. It goes a long way to winning games if you're setting up that first innings.

"Traditionally wickets do get harder and harder to bat on, so we've probably left ourselves a little bit too much work to do at the back end of games in the past, which no doubt we'll address and hopefully we can keep improving on that."

Qantas Tour of the UAE

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc

Pakistan Test squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez

Oct 7-11: First Test, drawn

Oct 16-20: Second Test, Abu Dhabi