International Cricket Council (ICC) Press Release (11 Jul 1996)

INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COUNCIL

MEDIA STATEMENT

Thursday, 11th July

At the ICC Annual Conference which concluded today, a number of important decisions were taken to further improve International cricket.

Following the success of the first Captains meeting in Calcutta prior to the recent World Cup, a second, longer meeting will be held in London in mid-May 1997 (exact dates to be finalised). The ICC Cricket Committee will meet concurrently.

The first National Grid Referees Conference will be held in early November in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) at the conclusion of the One Day International series between India, South Africa and Australia.

Further steps will be taken to improve the standard of umpiring in all countries. There will be a change in emphasis in the appointments of umpires from the National Grid International Panel towards the better umpires being appointed abroad more often. To achieve this objective, a revised, simplified assessment form for use by captains and referees will be introduced at International level from the next series in August, with some countries experimenting with the new assessment in their domestic cricket. The goal is universal adoption of a common assessment system in all first-class and one day cricket to provide a basis for identifying the best umpires worldwide.

Countries will also be increasing training courses.

Law 24.2 (throwing) - ICC reaffirmed its support of the Law and of umpires who applied it. However, there are occasions when an umpire may be uncertain about a bowler`s action. Last year, a detailed procedure was introduced permitting an umpire or referee to request video footage of a player in a match situation; the video would be forwarded to the player`s Board for action.

A new independent Panel was approved at the meeting. The 9 man panel (of which 5 will be a quorum) will comprise a blend of former players of International stature, referees and umpires. They will review any video submitted and decide whether or not a player has a problem with his action; if so, immediate action will be required by the player`s Board. Names of panel members will be announced at a later date and the panel will become operative as soon as is possible.

The experimental use of TV replays to assist umpires clarify whether a fieldsman has touched the boundary rope when trying to prevent a 4 or 6 has been a success and will now be a mandatory part of International cricket playing conditions. There are no plans to extend the use of television technology further in assisting umpires in their decisions.

Concern was expressed at the number of players and officials walking on the match pitch when inspecting it before play. A new playing condition will be introduced to allow only the Captain and team Coach to walk on and inspect the pitch. Only rubber footwear will be allowed. No bouncing of balls or tapping the pitch with bats will be permitted in inspections prior to play each day.

The standard playing conditions introduced last year including those for fast short-pitched bowling have been working well. Several minor re-wordings have been made for clarification.

1999 World Cup - refer separate notes

The 3 Associate Member countries to play in the 1999 World Cup will qualify in the 1997 Carlsberg ICC Trophy to be held in Kuala Lumpur commencing on 23rd March. For the first time, there will be television coverage of the last preliminary match (between Malaysia and Bangladesh), the semi-finals, play-off for third place (and a World Cup berth) and the Final which will be on 12th April.

A Youth (Under 19) World Cup will be added to the International calendar on a 4 year cycle, the first being a 16 country event to be staged in South Africa in Jan 1998. Further details later. The only previous Youth World Cup was in 1988 in Australia.

The Hong Kong Sixes will gain official recognition should current negotiations between the HKCA, ICC and the promoter CWI be concluded satisfactorily.

Nepal has become the 23rd Associate Member and Portugal is now an Affiliate Member. An application from France for upgrading to Associate status has been deferred for 2 years to enable further progress to be made.

As part of cricket`s response to the need to extend the game to new areas, a 6 man Development Committee has been established charged with the responsibility of conducting a full review and preparing a detailed set of recommendations for the 1997 Conference. The Committee will comprise - Dr Ali Bacher - Chairman (South Africa), Julian Hunte (West Indies), Majid Khan (Pakistan), Roger Knight (MCC), Joe Buzaglo (Associates Chairman), Ashraful Huq (Associates) and the Chief Executive, David Richards (ICC).

Bob Simpson is the only new face on the ICC Cricket Committee replacing Bob Cowper.

A new Full Members Executive Committee has been established to provide greater support to the Chairman and Chief Executive in The Management of an increasingly busy ICC.

It was also agreed that a small review committee be established to fully review the ICC Rules, powers and structure to ensure they are appropriate for International cricket into the next century. The Committee is; Sir John Anderson - Chairman (New Zealand), Julian Hunte (West Indies), Ehsan Mani (Pakistan), Krish Mackerdhuj (South Africa), Joe Buzaglo (Associates Chairman), and the Chief Executive, David Richards (ICC).

Chairman-Elect - refer separate release of 10th July.