13 May 2009

Cricket's umpire review system to be rolled out this year

6:31 am on 13 May 2009

This year's Ashes series will be one of the last in which the umpire's decision is final, after the International Cricket Council confirmed that its controversial Umpire Decision Review System is set to be introduced permanently into the game on the basis of a "phased roll-out" from October 2009.

The review system has been trialled over the last 9 months, including New Zealand's home test series against the West Indies over the summer.

A final decision on whether the new system will become a permanent feature of Test cricket will be taken by the ICC's chief executives committee and their main board, whose next meetings are due to take place during their annual conference at Lord's in late June.

The new system gives players the opportunity to request a review by the third umpire of a decision made by the on-field umpire they believed was wrong.

Cricket's governing body will also look into the feasibility of holding day-night Test matches.

The ICC also covered areas such as a possible maximum weight for bats, improving over-rates and the impact of "switch-hitting" - when the batsman switches stance from right to left handed, or vice versa, just before the delivery.

The committee also brainstormed ideas "to ensure one-day international cricket remains relevant and popular" amid the rise of the truncated Twenty20 version of the game.