ICC rejects TV appeals proposal

The ICC board has surprisingly rejected a recommendation from its own cricket committee to trial a process of allowing players three appeals per innings to the TV umpire if they felt a decision made by an on-field umpire was incorrect during this year's ICC Champions Trophy.

"The reservations expressed by the cricket committee when they recommended the player appeal measure were mirrored to a much greater degree by the ICC board in its rejection of the concept after extensive deliberation," said ICC president Ehsan Mani. "The board was concerned about the impact of the trial on the Spirit of Cricket and the effect it might have on the integrity of umpiring at all levels.

"It was also felt the ICC Champions Trophy was too high profile an event at which to undertake such a trial. As such, further discussions will now take place to see whether the concept can be tested at domestic level."

Duncan Fletcher, England's coach, had repeatedly spoken in favour of the three-appeal concept. But, for the time being at least, technology will only be used at the discretion of the on-field umpires.

Meanwhile, another decision from a week-long series of ICC meetings in London, saw the chief executives' committee (CEC) also approve a series of recommendations concerning the issue of bad light in international cricket. Research on the subject will be undertaken in Australia, England and Pakistan and pending the completion and review of that research, artificial lights can still be used in Test matches. The CEC also agreed to the increased use of light meters as a guideline for determining whether light is fit or unfit for play.