The IChave confirmed that the use of the Decision Review System will no longer be mandatory following a meeting in Dubai.
Test Championship unlikely to take place in 2013
The International Cricket Council have confirmed that the use of the Decision Review System will no longer be mandatory following a meeting of their Executive Board in Dubai.
The decision on whether DRS should be used in a series will once again fall to the two participating boards, as it did prior to the ICC board's meeting earlier this year.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India had already said that they would protest the use of Hotspot, which was made mandatory but had its accuracy questioned during India's Test series in England.
While the ICC have now altered their policy once again, the truth of the matter is that little will change since Hotspot's lack of availability meant it was used in fewer series than it wasn't since the board met in Hong Kong.
Blatant
"Although the DRS improves correct umpire decisions by around five per cent and corrects any blatant errors, there are some who are not convinced by its reliability," said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.
"We will continue to work with interested parties to improve the system while permitting the participating teams to decide whether they wish to use it or not."
The system will, however, be used in all ICC global events.
Meanwhile the board expressed a preference for a Test Championship in 2013, but hinted this might not happen as they "recognised the significant commercial challenge in trying to replace the Champions Trophy."
The ICC will consult with their broadcasting partner, ESPN Star Sports, before a final decision is made.
"It would be unfortunate if the Test Championship is delayed to 2017 but the board needs to balance several objectives," said Lorgat.
In accordance with the current constitutional requirements of the ICC, the board asked the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Bangladesh Cricket Board to submit their nomination for the ICC vice-presidency for 2012-14.
The board also received a progress report from Lord Woolf in his role as chairman of the Independent Governance Review panel, and are expecting a final report at their next meeting in February 2012.
Challenges
ICC president Sharad Pawar confirmed that the report, which will look at the structure and constitutional framework of the ICC, will be made public once the board have seen it.
"Organisations, whether global companies or international sports bodies, need to take necessary steps to ensure that their house is in order otherwise they would be extremely vulnerable," said Woolf.
"I think in cricket people recognise that they have to face the challenges and will be prepared to take the decisions that will allow them to function effectively."
Finally, the qualifying system for the teams who will join the ten members in the 2015 World Cup was confirmed.
The top two teams in the current eight-team Associates and Affiliates 50-over League played until October 2013 will progress automatically to the World Cup while the remaining six teams will join four other teams from the World Cricket League (i.e. teams placed 3rd and 4th in Division 2 and teams placed 1st and 2nd in Division 3) in a ten-team qualifying event. The two finalists from this qualifying event will progress to the World Cup.
