jeudi 12 mai 2011

ICC cuts umpire decision reviews in limited-overs

LONDON (AP)—Players’ tactical use of video reviews for umpire decisions has pushed the International Cricket Council to restrict the unsuccessful appeals teams can make in limited-overs cricket to one per innings.



In a series of recommendations on subjects also including banning runners from international cricket and introducing nighttime test matches, the ICC’s cricket committee recommended Wednesday that halving the number of appeals in one-day matches in the hope that players challenge umpiring decisions only when they are convinced of an injustice.

The ICC wants to eradicate the sort of contentious appeal seen frequently at the World Cup, which ended on April 2.

Despite overwhelming evidence that umpires’ on-field decisions were correct, teams often used them simply because they were available, to slow opponents’ momentum or in hope of securing an unlikely reprieve for a key player.

“They used them for tactical purposes rather than because they genuinely believed a mistake had been made,” ICC general manager David Richardson said.

The committee, which is chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd and includes players, coaches and match officials, has also recommended to the ruling body’s board that the Umpire Decision Review System should be used in all tests—reiterating that India should lay aside a long-standing hostility to it.

Presently both competing nations have to agree for it to be implemented, a condition that has allowed the Board of Control for Cricket in India to block it from matches featuring its team.

India great Sachin Tendulkar benefited from the system twice at the World Cup, raising hope at the ICC that the BCCI may relent and acquiesce to its use.

Other nations, including Australia and England, have used the system for tests and Richardson said umpires were happy for it to be more widely implemented.

“They are embarrassed when they have to change one of their decisions but they are far happier to do that than to have ruined a match with a bad decision,” Richardson said.

UDRS has been used in 31 test matches since it was introduced to the format in 2009, with each side allowed two unsuccessful reviews per innings.

Richardson said the use of the system had shown that umpires got an average 75 percent of reviewed decisions correct, which had improved perception of the standard of officiating.

Richardson said he hoped next year to announce dates and venues for the first nighttime test matches, albeit as trials, with Lord’s, Sydney’s SCG and Abu Dhabi likely to be selected because of their powerful floodlights.

A switch to nighttime should help promote the elite form of the game by allowing fans to attend after work, and the only obstacle to overcome is now determining whether the new pink ball is suitably durable for the conditions.

The ICC will ask its members to test the ball in one multi-day domestic competitions to discover more about how it performs.

“The ICC remains determined to explore the possibility of day-night test cricket but at the same time we have to ensure the integrity of that format is also protected,” Richardson said.

The ball, which is being pushed ahead of an also suitable orange variety, performed well in a four-day match in Dubai involving the Marylebone Cricket Club. But Richardson said the committee still needed proof that it would retain its color and condition in less benign conditions.

Teams bowling second in day-night matches at the World Cup were often disadvantaged by dew settling on the ground and making the ball slippery. The ICC wants to see how the pink ball performs in similar circumstances.

“We were also worried about the dew factor and whether, if a team has to bowl at night, they have to bowl with a bar of soap,” Lloyd said.

The committee also recommended further changes to 50-over cricket in the wake of the World Cup, which was won by India and mostly judged an improvement on the 2007 tournament in the Caribbean.

The board said it wants to abolish the mandatory new ball after 34 overs of an ODI and instead have teams bowling with a different ball at each end.

Its answer to slow over rates was to recommend that a captain should be suspended for one match if their team is guilty of two offenses within a single 12-month period. It also wants to spice up the sometimes slow middle part of an innings by forcing both batting and bowling powerplays to be used between overs 16 and 40.

The committee also wants domestic trials removing the 10-over limit on each bowler, eliminating compulsory close catchers, and increasing the number of bouncers that can be delivered per over to be doubled to two.

Qualifying could also be introduced for the 2015 World Cup, reigniting Ireland’s hopes of making it to the tournament after beating England at this year’s event.

“Notwithstanding the strong success of 50-over cricket at the recent ICC Cricket World Cup, I am delighted that the ICC Cricket Committee has been creative in seeking to enhance the format to ensure its continued future,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.

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