DAVE Richardson, chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), remains hopeful of pushing through the creation of league structures for Test, one-day international and Twenty20 cricket later this year following opposition to the plan during the governing body’s recent annual conference.

The ICC announced on Saturday, after a week of meetings in Edinburgh, Scotland, that proposals for a two-division Test championship, as well as new competitions for the two limited overs formats, are still being worked on and that further discussions will now take place at a workshop in Dubai this September.

Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are among those to have publicly voiced their concerns about the idea of splitting Test cricket into two tiers during the past week, but Richardson is optimistic that his model, which is slated to run from 2019 and is aimed at reviving interest in the sport, will be adopted.

Richardson, whose plan has the backing of the players’ union Fica, said:

“The member countries acknowledge and recognise the importance of international cricket across all its three formats and are committed to ensuring that it continues to grow in relevance and value for cricket fans around the world.

“This is a complex issue on many levels, but I am heartened by the progress that has been made to date and during these meetings and look forward to the next meeting in Dubai.”

The ICC has also announced that a new draft of the governing body’s constitution will be drawn up over the coming weeks and debated at the next board meeting in October, with chairman Shashank Manohar looking to roll back the 2014 changes that saw the so-called “Big Three” of India, Australia and England take greater control of the sport and allocate themselves an increased proportion of revenues from global events.

Two changes to the use of technology in international cricket have emerged from the conference, with the umpire’s call area in relation to the stumps in lbw decisions set to be increased in size and the scheduling of a trial in the use of the TV official for adjudicating no-balls in “an upcoming one-day series”.

Under the current regulations, 50 percent of the ball must be hitting the centre of the off or leg stump for an on-field decision to be overturned by the third umpire, but from October 1, this line will move to the outside of the either stump.

The bottom of the bails will continue to be the threshold for the umpire’s call.

Following two recent examples of batsmen being reprieved when dismissed off front-foot no-balls that were subsequently shown to be legal deliveries — Australia’s Adam Voges against New Zealand in February and England’s Alex Hales when playing Sri Lanka last month — the ICC plans to test a system that sees the third umpire use instant replays to monitor the front line and will announce details of the trial in due course.

The ICC has also thrown its support behind women’s cricket being part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Durban following a presentation by the Commonwealth Games Federation and has said it will hold talks with the International Olympic Committee later this year regarding the sport’s inclusion in future Games. — The Guardian

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