ICC body okays DRS for all formats

LONDON (AFP) - The controversial Decision Review System ( DRS) should be used in all international matches, the cricket committee of the International Cricket Council recommended in London on Wednesday. And they added teams should be restricted to one challenge per innings in one-day and Twenty20 games, rather than the current two. The system, whereby players can challenge on-field decisions, was used in all matches throughout the recent World Cup in the subcontinent. But for all other major international matches the agreement, in practice, of both sides is required although responsibility technically rests with the home board. However, world champions India, have been opposed to the system almost from its inception and a controversial lbw decision during their World Cup tied match with England, where England's Ian Bell was given not out even though replays suggested he was in fact lbw, would not have softened their stance. However, following a two-day meeting of the ICC's cricket committee at Lord's, Dave Richardson, the ICC's general manager for cricket, was confident of changing India's mind. "The level of believability in ball-tracking systems has improved," Richardson said. "Hopefully, member boards and the India board will take cognizance of that. We hope the decision is influential in that regard." This recommendations will have to be submitted to the ICC's chief executives' committee and the global governing body's main board for approval, with both next due to meet in Hong Kong from June 26-30. Non-Test nations should be given the chance to qualify for the World Cup, the cricket committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) said here on Wednesday. Under plans announced during an ICC summit in Mumbai last month, participation at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups is set to be restricted to just the 10 Full-Member or Test nations of the global governing body. That caused uproar in associate or non-Test countries such as Ireland, who beat England in Bangalore at this year's World Cup and nearly qualified for the quarter-finals. The 2011 World Cup, won by India, featured 14 teams and the decision to exclude non Test-playing nations such as Ireland from future editions led to accusations the ICC had created a 'closed shop' tournament. However, Sharad Pawar, the Indian president of the ICC, subsequently called for the proposal to be reviewed. And, following a two-day meeting of the cricket committee, where former Ireland captain Trent Johnston is the associate nation representative, ICC general manager Dave Richardson told reporters that they would be recommending a qualification series. "The committee resolved to pass on the recommendation that it favoured a system of qualification for the World Cup," he said. "That it was not restricted to the 10 Full Members and that there was an opportunity to qualify." Under the original proposals, the World Twenty20 tournament is set to be expanded to 16 teams, theoretically ensuring non Test-playing nations will still benefit from international exposure. However, those plans prompted an angry reaction from associate nations, with Cricket Ireland's chief executive Warren Deutrom describing them as "frankly outrageous". The ICC's executive board will reconsider the composition of the 2015 World Cup during their annual conference in Hong Kong at the end of June.

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