The Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) — also referred to as just DRS — has proved to be quite a divisive subject at World Cup 2011.

"I think DRS is good because one decision can change the match," Afridi told reporters after his team bounced back to beat Canada in their Pool A match here on Thursday.

During the match, umpires Daryl Harper and Nigel Llong were so off the mark that a number of their decisions were reversed thanks to UDRS.

In fact, Afridi joked that instead of providing just two opportunities to a competing team to use DRS, the International Cricket Council (ICC) should increase it to four. "I think it should be raised to four from two because two are proving less," smiled Afridi.

But ask the Indians and they will tell you that it's no laughing matter.

Earlier this week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to lock horns with the ICC after the game's governing body advised Dhoni to read the rules related to UDRS before questioning the implementation of technology during World Cup games.

Dhoni had raised a question mark over UDRS following the controversy surrounding Ian Bell's decision in India's World Cup tie against England in Bangalore last Sunday.

The use of technology in reaching a verdict has certainly come under the microscope. The ICC's 2.5 meter-barrier for lbw decisions DRS enabled Bell to survive at a crucial juncture of the India-England thriller that eventually ended in a tie.

During the England chase, Bell, batting on 17, was declared not-out by on-field umpire Billy Bowden to an lbw appeal from Yuvraj Singh. Dhoni asked this decision to be referred and despite television replays suggesting that the ball would have hit middle-stump, the original decision of not out stayed as the ball had more than 2.5 meters to travel from point of impact.

Dhoni was left fuming and made it clear after the match that he wasn't happy with UDRS.

But speaking on the subject, Australia captain Ricky Ponting told reporters here at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Friday that UDRS was generally beneficial for the game.

"At the end of the day, players always have to understand that it's not going to be perfect," said the seasoned batsman. "But we're still going to be getting more correct decisions at the end of a game, which is obviously beneficial for the game. As long as you're getting more correct decisions then it's got to be good for the game," stressed Ponting.

"I think the main reason for that is there are different interpretations by some of the umpires on what's right and what's not right with the distance between where the ball hits and how far it's got to travel on to hit the stumps, those sort of things." Ponting believes that the ICC should have also used the Hot Spot technology.

"I was a bit surprised at the start of the tournament when we found out we were using the DRS without Hot Spot, that was a bit of a shock to me because I think the Hot Spot part of it is probably as big a part of the system as anything."

The Hot Spot technology provides conclusive evidence on the ball's contact, or not, with any part of the bat, pads, gloves, or the body. In spite of its importance, the ICC has decided against using the expensive technology at World Cup 2011.

When asked about the 2.5 meter rule, Ponting said that his team wasn't briefed about it before the World Cup.

"No we weren't. I think the major reason for that is that different umpires are going to interpret it different ways, so it's pretty hard to put a blanket ruling on everything when it's open to interpretation, which I think the system is at the moment. There have been a couple of examples in the last couple of games ... I'm not sure if the ICC are talking about it as a result of that over the last couple of days, but all we can do as players is get out there and use whatever system is in place." Most of the other competing teams have, more or less, lent their support for UDRS.

"I have always maintained in the last two years that UDRS is good for the game," said Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand skipper.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy said, "I think it's a good asset to have in today's game as it minimizes errors. It brings out the correct decision most of the time. I've have no problems with it. It's a good addition to the game." Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan expressed similar views. "I have no complains, I don't know about the others. Technology helps, maybe not 100 percent of the times. I still feel we should use it," said Shakib.