By IANS,
Dubai : Test cricket is the pinnacle of the sport and there is a need to maintain a balance between the three forms of the game, International Cricket Council’s Cricket Committee said Tuesday after its two-day meeting here.
The ICC Cricket Committee held an in-depth and lengthy debate about the current cricket landscape in light of the fact that there are now three forms of the game at international level – Tests, ODIs and Twenty20.
The committee agreed that there was a strong need to identify and maintain a balance between the three formats so that all of them could continue to thrive.
“It identified Test cricket as the pinnacle of the sport and expressed the need for the best available participants (players, umpires, referees etc) to be involved in international cricket,” ICC said in a statement.
The committee accepted the need for a minimum requirement in terms of numbers of ODIs, Twenty20 Internationals and Tests between all teams.
The committee also recommended that further thought be given to the introduction of a Test league or periodic play-off for the top two sides in the Reliance Mobile Test Championship table.
In March, the ICC Board approved the trial of an umpire review system during a Test series this year and the ICC Cricket Committee Tuesday agreed to a proposed set of playing conditions for the trial.
According to it, each team should be limited to a maximum of three unsuccessful referrals per innings.
The players should be permitted to ask the on-field umpire to review any other decision in consultation with the third umpire.
After the on-field umpire gives his decision, the batsman or fielding side’s captain asks the umpire to review that decision.
“The committee recommended that Hawk Eye technology could be used by the third umpire but only for the purposes of determining the actual path of the ball up until the point that it struck the batsman and not the predictor function of the technology.”
The Test series that will be used for the trial will be announced in due course.
The commitee was chaired by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar and included former Australia captain Mark Taylor, South Africa coach Mickey Arthur and Michael Holding.
Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel, chief ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle, Steve Tikolo, Majid Khan and Tim May, Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, were also present at the meeting.
The ICC Cricket Committee is empowered to make recommendations which then go forward to the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) for approval. If the approval is forthcoming then the decisions can be ratified at the ICC Board.