Players will be able to challenge officials' decisions in Tests as a matter of course from October onwards, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Thursday. A joint meeting of the ICC board and its chief executives' committee at Lord's ratified the May decision of the governing body's cricket committee that the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) is set to be introduced permanently into the Test arena on the basis of a "phased roll-out" from October 2009.
The system, which was tired for nine months, 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. Significantly, this was the first time players had been allowed to challenge a decision.
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. The October roll-out date means the system won't be used during the upcoming Ashes series between England and Australia, which starts in July.
In May, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said that from October the plan was for sides to be limited to two unsuccessful appeals per innings as was the case during the West Indies-England series in February and March. 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 some third umpires were criticised 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 ICC also said Thursday it was looking into day/night Tests which, if a suitable ball could be developed along with several other conditions, could lead to a Test under floodlights in 2010.
The ICC also announced that stricter penalties should be imposed on Boards and venues found guilty of producing pitches considered "poor"or "unfit". In February, cricket authorities were widely criticised when a Test between the West Indies and England had to be abandoned after just 10 balls when the sandy outfield at the newly built Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua was deemed too dangerous.
However, the ICC's definition of a "poor" surface would also include batsmen-friendly 'featherbed' surfaces which, it was felt, were a serious threat to the game. And regarding bad light, the ICC said it would follow the example of English domestic cricket and suspend play only when the umpires considered conditions unreasonable or dangerous (rather than as is currently the case, unsuitable) and that the umpires alone would make that decision rather than offer the batsmen the option to choose.
It also said fines for slow over-rates would be doubled and a captain of a side found guilty of three over-rate fines in the same format of the game in a rolling 12-month period should be banned automatically for one match, the ban applicable in the next match played by his side in that same format.
Match officials were also instructed to crack down on delays such as unscheduled drinks breaks and that team over-rates are displayed on scoreboards to ensure everyone was aware of the situation at all times. Slow over-rates and unscheduled stoppages have been cited by some terrestrial television broadcasters in England as a reason for their reluctance to carry live coverage of Test matches.