TV umpire ruled out of Ashes series

The controversial system of allowing players to refer umpires’ decisions to a television official will not be used during this summer’s Ashes series, although it will be employed in Test matches from the autumn.
A meeting at Lord’s yesterday of the ICC Cricket Committee decided that the review system, which has been trialled in four series, including England’s tour to the West Indies this year, needed fine-tuning before it could be introduced for all matches. The system allows players two incorrect challenges on decisions made by the on-field umpires per innings.
It is possible that the system will be used in England’s tour to South Africa in November, but the committee recommended that time should first be spent training umpires to ensure improved consistency in the way the system is used and drafting minimum technical standards in technology for matches around the world.
Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said: “There has been a fair amount of feedback. The majority are in favour and everybody accepts the fundamental that we want to get the decisions right. There were concerns about the time it takes to get decisions, but we’ll get better.”
The committee, chaired by Clive Lloyd, were briefed on the broadcasting implications of the review system, including the cost of such technology as Hot Spot, by Mark Lynch, the cricket director for Sky Sports. “It needs to be considered that the facilities and equipment at certain venues are up to the standard we want,” Lorgat said. The committee’s recommendations will be discussed by the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee and the ICC Board next month.
The committee also agreed to explore staging Test cricket at night under floodlights, which would help to rejuvenate the game in countries where attendance at Tests is flagging. Challenges include finding the right coloured ball. Red does not show up well under lights and white discolours easily. Tests are ongoing with a pink ball and Lloyd said that even a green ball was being considered, although the benefit of it standing out clearly against the night sky is offset by the possibility of losing it against grass.
Lorgat wants to see what appetite there is for day-night Tests. “We think spectators would love day-night cricket, but want to get some facts on that,” he said, before reassuring traditionalists that there is no plan to change the colour of clothing.
A trial day-night Test could be held next year, possibly the England versus Bangladesh Test at Lord’s, although Lorgat refused to name a specific match. MCC also wants to stage a first-class match at Lord’s under floodlights this season.
The committee also discussed how to speed up over-rates. Lloyd said that there should be a period of 20 minutes either side of an interval when drinks could not be brought on to the field. Penalties for slow play will be doubled. Any captain who is fined three times in a year for slow play will face a ban.
Keith Bradshaw, the secretary and chief executive of MCC, has stood down from the ECB’s board of directors over a conflict of interests between his role as a spokesman for the club and his loyalty to the ECB. A replacement representative for MCC will be named soon.
Source:The times