Former ICC Elite Panel umpire, Rudi Koertzen feels the controversial UDRS could be beneficial for the game.

Talking exclusively to Mobile ESPN's Jepher Christopher Nickels in a telephonic interview from South Africa, the 61-year-old Rudi spoke about the growing use of technology in cricket and more. Rudi has stood in a record 209 overs-limited Internationals and officiated in 108 Tests. Excerpts:

Jepher Nickels: What is your personal opinion on the referral system? Do you think it's going to benefit the game?

Rudi Koertzen: Yeah! I am sure this will be beneficial for the game. If the umpire makes a decision and it's a wrong one, then the batsman or the bowler suffer because of that.

JN: Does this really undermine the authority of the on-field umpire?

RK: I would not say so. I will rather prefer to go the UDRS-way. You are the only guy in the world who doesn't know whether you made a right or the wrong decision while millions of people actually see it. So it's safe to fall back on technology. Who wants to see people slamming you in newspapers for a bad decision?

JN: Former umpire Dickie Bird criticised this system. Do you have any idea how the current umpires react to it?

RK: I would publicly say 99 per cent are in favour of this system as nobody likes to make a wrong decision. Umpires want to play it safe themselves. As I said earlier, it is better to make use of the technology than get slammed.

JN: Does it hurt the umpire's ego when technology tells a different picture?

RK: It's not about ego, it's about being honest to your job. You get scrutinized for every decision you make. You only get a split second to make a decision. If you have technology, why not use it?

JN: Some players and Boards are apprehensive about the use of UDRS. What according to you is the reason behind this?

RK: I wouldn't know what their reason is. You probably get more decisions going against you than for you. So that might be their only concern. But I feel if you use technology then it's good for you as well as the game.

JN: The latest to join the Elite Umpires panel is former Sri Lankan off-spinner Kumar Dharmasena. He has officiated in 19 ODIs. Do you think this is a good enough time-period to judge an umpire's credentials and promote him to the Test level?

RK: It is a very good question but I feel it's good to have former players as on-field umpires. Even if they haven't officiated in too many matches. They have seen the game from close quarters for quite sometime. When I started at Test level, I umpired for nine or 10 years and stood in a lot of first class games before being selected on the South Africa panel. When I got into the ICC panel in 1997, I had already umpired for 16 years.

JN: Should ICC put an age bar on umpires in the Elite Panel?

RK: I retired when I turned 60 years old. So I think 60 is the right age to retire. Thus, ICC should also limit the umpiring age. People are not going to remember you for all the good decisions you made over the years, but for the bad ones you made in last two years! I was very fortunate to have never been overtly criticized. I accepted my mistakes whenever I made one and was never afraid to say sorry for my wrong decisions.

JN: What keeps you busy after hanging up your boots?

RK: I have got a new job with the ICC as South Africa's umpire performance manager where I sit and watch matches. And then give umpires inputs on how I handled the on-field situations. I do advice the current crop of Proteas umpires how to go about things but it is for them to follow my suggestions.