Australia maintain DRS resolve

Australia will push for the right to enforce umpire decision reviews in its home matches at the ICC's executive board meeting in June, despite continued Indian opposition to the system.

India's scheduled visit to Australia during the 2011-12 summer, their first tour down under since the contentious 2008 Sydney Test match that led indirectly to the adoption of the DRS, adds plenty of currency to an issue that remains divisive even after the system's use during the World Cup.

The ICC cricket committee recommended in its meeting at Lord's that home boards be granted the right to choose whether to employ the system or not, a state of affairs that would prevent the repeat of a situation when India and hosts Sri Lanka disagreed over its use last year.

James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, showed no public sign of deferring to India's judgment following his board's two-day meeting in Melbourne. "My personal view is strongly in support of DRS, as we know the current understanding is basically the DRS can be used by bilateral agreement of the two competing teams," said Sutherland.

"At this stage in spite of the recommendation of the cricket committee it does need to go through other bodies within the ICC in order for that to become an absolute requirement. I'm conscious of that, but certainly from a CA perspective we would be very keen for DRS to be in place for all international cricket."

An ICC plan to have BCCI officials observe the use of the DRS in Australia, during the Ashes last summer, fell through due to scheduling conflicts, but the World Cup provided a closer look for subcontinental administrators and players. There was consternation about the lbw reprieve won on a technicality by Ian Bell during India's group match against England, but it must also be observed that Sachin Tendulkar was saved from an early dismissal in the semi-final against Pakistan by a similarly narrow DRS margin.

"Obviously we all got a fair insight into that during the World Cup where the DRS system was in place for the World Cup, and that was in India," said Sutherland.

Tendulkar and the Indian captain MS Dhoni are thought to be the bulwark of Indian opposition to the system, a position that has been unchanged since Sri Lanka had much the better of the DRS during a series in Sri Lanka in late 2008.