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Aussie women call for regular third umpire

Perry, Mooney believes difficult on-field calls can be resolved with additional use of technology

Calls for every international match to have a third umpire have ramped up during the Women's World Cup, with players coming out in support of the introduction.

Australia has been on both ends of the spectrum with run-out decisions during the tournament, denied a clear dismissal against the West Indies in game one with Chedean Nation caught short by an Ashleigh Gardner throw, however umpires were unable to refer due to a lack of TV replays.

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And against South Africa, Marizanne Kapp was given out after a direct hit by Alex Blackwell, though replays showed a dive had her well safe.

Only 10 of the 31 matches are broadcast via television networks throughout the Women's World Cup (the rest are streamed online), meaning only those matches have third umpire capabilities.

Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry sympathised with the on-field umpires who had the tough calls to make but believes every international match should have a third umpire.

"The umpires have an incredibly tough job on calling those tight run-outs, a lot of those ones that are tight to the naked eye are often out," Perry said.

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"I don't blame him for giving (Marizanne Kapp) out, but we had a similar situation in Taunton with another umpire so from that point of view, it would be really nice to have that opportunity to go to the third umpire whenever possible.

"We have the streaming facilities so I'm not a tech expert but if potentially there was a way to set that up that'd be great going forward."

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The introduction of the decision-review system in female cricket was announced for the 2017 Women's World Cup, but once again the system is only available for matches that are shown through the host broadcasters.

Australia opener Beth Mooney also called for video replays to become mandatory in the women's game, especially at a world event such as the Women's World Cup.

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"I think the introduction of the third umpire to the women's game is something that would benefit the game," Mooney said.

"We've seen some match-changing decisions already in the World Cup and having the third umpire just makes certain of those line-ball decisions."

After the West Indies-Australia game, an ICC spokesman confirmed there was no third umpire available for the live stream matches, with the cameras at midwicket no substitute for the square-leg run-out cameras used in broadcast games.

The live stream matches use eight cameras compared to the 30 available for broadcast games.

The three remaining matches – the semi-finals and final at Lord's – will all be televised and feature a third-umpire and decision review systems.