ICC recommends UDRS for 2011 World Cup

	The UDRS has received mixed reviews since it was first used in July 2008 © Getty Images

The ICC Cricket Committee, after its annual meeting at Lord's, has recommended that the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) be implemented in the 2011 Word Cup in the subcontinent and introduced "as soon as possible" in all Test series. The committee, chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, also decided to revisit laws that were pitted against the fielding side: it said the practice of the non-striker backing up while the ball was being delivered should be discouraged, as should batsmen changing their grip before the bowler entered his delivery stride.

The most significant decision concerned the UDRS, whose implementation since its introduction in July 2008 has been inconsistent in terms of series where it has been used. Now, though, the ICC committee has called for it to be introduced "as soon as possible" in all Test series. It has also recommended that the system be used throughout next year's World Cup in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with the same limit of two referrals per innings as in Tests.

That would, however, be subject to agreement with ICC's broadcaster partners ESPN Star Sports, who would have to bear the cost of implementing the system. The committee also recommended introduction of a minimum standard of technology, such as ball tracking technology, including in the third umpire room, and annual reviews of technology and equipment.

The system has received mixed reviews from players and umpires. It landed in controversy during the Johannesburg Test between England and South Africa in January 2010, when a caught behind appeal was turned down by the third umpire Daryl Harper. In a bid to eliminate any inconsistency, the ICC decided it had to meet with all broadcasting companies in a bid to standardise the use of technology, and hosted a workshop earlier in the year.

David Morgan, the outgoing ICC president, had said that day-night Test matches were a possibility in the near future with India and Australia as potential hosts. The ICC, while examining ways in which these games would be played out, stated the matter required further discussion.

The ICC also agreed to examine the law that permitted non-strikers to back up too far while the ball was being delivered, giving them an unfair advantage in an attempt to complete a run. "ICC Cricket Committee agreed that batsmen trying to steal ground when the bowler is running in to bowl should be discouraged. They will look at regulations that require a batsman to remain in his crease until the bowler's front foot lands."

With regards to the switch-hit, the ICC said that a bowler reserved the right not to bowl if he saw the batsman change his grip before entering his delivery stride. "Should the bowler see a batsman change his grip or stance prior to the delivery stride the bowler can decide not to bowl the ball." The switch-hit had been given an all clear by the MCC - the guardian of the laws of cricket- in 2008.

IPL 3 clean, uncertainty over previous editions - ICC

	The ACSU was "heavily involved" in the third edition of the IPL © Indian Premier League
Related Links Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League Teams: India Sites: Cricinfo ICC Site

Paul Condon, the outgoing chief of the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), has said it worried about the first two IPL seasons not because it suspected match-fixing but because of the lack of infrastructure to prevent it. He said the third edition held this year was a clean event largely due to the heavy involvement of the ACSU.

"IPL 1 and 2 we were worried about, not because we think there were huge fixes, but because there was no infrastructure to prevent it," Condon said at Lord's on Thursday. "That doesn't mean to say that matches were fixed in IPL 1 and 2, but nor can I, hand on heart, give it a clean bill of health. I just don't know .

"Our advice was, and remains, that if you are going to have world-class players, international players, who are playing in IPLs and Twenty20s, and if they do anything daft there, sadly they will take that back into the international game. You can't be a part-time fixer, once the bad guys get into them, and a lot of them are organised criminals, then you are on the hook."

While Condon acknowledged he had heard rumours of spot-fixing in the third IPL season, he said there was no concrete evidence to suggest that was the case. "In IPL 3, the ACSU was heavily involved, there was an education programme, and we've got no current intelligence, or information, or ongoing enquiries, which suggest anything other than IPL3 was a clean event in terms of spot-fixing.

"IPL 3 from a clean cricket point of view seems to have been a very good event, but you are never more than a phonecall away from someone saying otherwise. There were rumours and vague allegations about IPL3, but no one has come forward either from the Indian board, or IPL, or franchises, or journalists, or players, or team managers, or anyone with specific allegations about match-fixing in IPL. All it's been is very generic rumour, and we're still waiting."

Condon said it was essential to prevent any possibility of match-fixing in leagues like the IPL to ensure the problem didn't spread to the international arena. "To keep the game clean, we've got to make sure that events like the IPL and other events like it, don't contaminate international cricket. So the same regime works for IPL: education, security managers in place."