The International Cricket Council plans to continue its trial of the umpire review system in Test series involving most Test-playing nations.
Cricket’s ruling body tried out the system of using television replays following contentious decisions in Sri Lanka’s recent series against India and said on Tuesday it would extend the trial.
The ICC said the system would be used in December’s series between New Zealand and West Indies, the meetings between India and Pakistan in
January and February, and subsequent series between West Indies-England and South Africa-Australia.
That would leave only Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to have not played Tests under the conditions before the ICC decides whether to implement the system permanently when it meets next year.
The ICC also discussed the Indian Cricket League on the first day of its two-day meeting, with the rebel competition possibly close to getting official sanction after the Board of Control for Cricket in India agreed to meet with organisers.
BCCI president Shashank Manohar will meet ICL representatives soon and then report to the ICC, which will then decide whether to sanction the competition.
The Twenty20 ICL was started by Zee Television Limited, one of India’s largest media groups, reportedly after BCCI turned down their bid to get the telecast rights for Indian cricket. The BCCI started its
own Indian Premier League, which was a huge success.
The ICC refused to sanction the ICL, which featured recently retired stars Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq alongside New Zealand’s Shane Bond and Pakistan’s Abdul Razzaq — who have been banned from international cricket by their boards for their participation.
The ICC also decided to set up a subcommittee to form new regulations governing official and unofficial cricket. The committee comprises of ICC head of legal David Becker, Manohar, Lalit Modi, Giles Clarke and Norman Arendse.
The ICC shifted the venue of the ICC World Cup qualifier from the United Arab Emirates to South Africa after the Emirates Cricket Board informed the ICC that their venues will not be ready by April 2009. – Sapa-AP