The future of international cricket's controversial umpiring referral system will be up for discussion when a group of leading administrators gathers here at Lord's.
The two-day meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) cricket committee, which starts on Monday, will have a major say in whether the system should be adopted permanently for international matches following trials in four Test series during the past nine months. Depending on the series, each side was allowed either two or three unsuccessful appeals per innings.
The system gave players the opportunity to request a review by the third umpire of a decision made by the on-field umpire they believed was wrong. Significantly, this was the first time players had been allowed to challenge a decision, although the two on-field umpires have always been able to consult one another and, for several years now, seek help from the television umpire.
Once a player asked for a referral, the third umpire was able to view replays and relay information back to the umpire on the field who then had to decide whether or not to reverse his original decision. However, in the overwhelming majority of cases, umpires felt unable to go against the advice of the replay official.
There was an understanding the third umpire would advise his on-field colleague to change their minds only if they had made an obvious error. But Australia's Daryl Harper came in for criticism, when the system was trialled during the West Indies-England series in February and March, for effectively 'over-ruling' the standing umpires when their decisions could, in the opinion of many observers, fairly have gone in favour of either side.
The cricket committee, which will be chaired for the first time by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, will try to answer several questions, all of which were raised during the trials, before reaching its conclusions.
These include:
Was the number of overall incorrect umpiring decisions reduced? Was there an undue negative influence on the pace of the game? Was it fair to ask the players to request a referral? What was the effect on the umpires and was the authority of the on-field officials unduly compromised?
The committee will also examine several other issues, including the feasibility of day/night Test matches, seen by some as a way of bolstering falling attendances for the five-day game in an age of Twenty20 cricket.
Their recommendations are due to be announced on Tuesday. These are not binding but will instead go forward for approval to the ICC's chief executives committee and their main board, whose next meetings are due to take place during the global governing body's annual conference week at Lord's from June 22-26.