As India prepares to make a formal complaint about the standard of umpiring in the Sydney Test, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland endorsed the use of more technology to improve the game.

India’s VVS Laxman acknowledges his century at the Sydney Cricket Ground yesterday. Picture: Phil Hillyard

And former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy wants match referees to enforce greater standards of behaviour after the referee in this series, Mike Procter, allowed obvious acts of petulance to go unquestioned, let alone punished.

At least questions about the sportsmanship or otherwise of the Australians for not walking when dismissed - most never have - will now be viewed in the light of Ricky Ponting instantly rejecting a catch at second slip he felt had not carried to him.

India team manager Chetan Chauhan is awaiting written directions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India before approaching Procter.

"We have asked our team management to lodge a protest to the ICC match referee against the wrong decisions made by the umpires," BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said from India on Wednesday night.

"I am sure the ICC will be monitoring the situation in Dubai and taking appropriate steps."

Sutherland conceded a challenge system, similar to the one used in tennis tournaments, could reduce the impact of bad calls, so long as delays were minimised.

"There have been some advances in technology that cricket can continue to explore ... there is also a sense of delay when there is this use of technology," Sutherland said.

"We see that at the moment with run-outs, and people may argue that the game of cricket doesn’t need any more delays than it already has.

"I think there is a strong argument on the technological side ... in tennis it works where a player can make only two or three (incorrect) appeals in the course of a match. That may be something that makes people think twice about using the appeals at the right time."

Sutherland’s comments came as umpires Steve Bucknor, of the West Indies, and England’s Mark Benson had another modest time at the office on the second day of the SCG Test.

Even with technology available to umpires to at least check close decisions on stumpings and run-outs, Bucknor refused to use it.

Having survived an obvious caught-behind on 30 that was given not out by Bucknor during the first day, Andrew Symonds was 148 yesterday when he lifted his back foot playing a leg-side push against Harbhajan Singh.

Wicketkeeper MS Dhoni lifted the bails in a low-key fashion and appealed. Bucknor shook his head at square leg and ignored what were technically illegal requests from several of the Indians to defer to video umpire Bruce Oxenford.

A TV view from the rear showed Symonds failed to ground his foot behind the line and would, therefore, have been out.

Symonds had been lucky to survive a stumping on 48, which was referred to the video umpire on the first day, when there was doubt over whether he had grounded his foot.

The powerful Queenslander finished unbeaten on 162 yesterday when Australia was eventually bowled out for 463.

Umpire Benson has also had a bad game, giving Ponting not out caught down the leg side when 17 on Wednesday and then firing him lbw for 55 when the captain clearly edged the ball into his pad.

Ponting was lucky not to be reported for lingering too long after being wrongly given out and then lobbing his bat through the change room door.

Likewise, teenage India fast bowler Ishant Sharma was fortunate to avoid the match referee’s ire after a spectacular display of grief when Symonds was given not out caught behind.

However, Procter’s failure to act against Yuvraj Singh’s petulance when he was clearly caught behind during the first Test in Melbourne has created a terrible precedent for behaviour in this series.

A decade ago Healy was suspended for two one-day matches after lobbing his bat up a few stairs when given out lbw in a Test at Pretoria.

"I’m not sure they’ve got it right, the match referees, although it’s not a big issue," Healy said.

"They do need to uphold some standards, that’s what they’re appointed for.

"They travel the world to uphold the same standards of sportsmanship and respect."

Healy believes umpires’ mistakes are blown out of proportion compared to those of players, but said greater use of technology could help them do a better job.

"I don’t mind a little bit more technology, with a referral system of some sort coming in, to help the umpires feel better for the rest of the match," he said.

"On day one, if there is a decision that could have too great an impact on a Test, that could be reversed.

"That would make the umpire feel better and much clearer in the head for the next four days.

"That’s the one angle I think technology can be used for ... to help the umpires reverse a brain fade."