The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Wednesday that it will increase the number of umpires on its elite panel from seven to either nine or ten. "Next year when we sit down to make appointments we will increase the number to nine or ten but we want to have the best umpires supervising tests and one-day internationals," ICC chief executive Malcom Speed said.
The current test series involving Pakistan and England has been marked by some contentious decisions, one leading to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to complain to the ICC over the run out of Inzamamul Haq in the second Test in Faisalabad. The Pakistan skipper was given out by Australian umpires Darrell Hair and Simon Taufel on the second day of play when he took evasive action to avoid being hit by a throw from fast bowler Steve Harmison.
The laws of cricket state: "Aa batsman cannot be run out if he is not attempting a run and taking evasive action to avoid bodily harm." Speed said the ICC realised that having seven umpires preside over at least 10 Tests and 20 odd one-day internationals in a year was a reasonable workload for a fully professional official.