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London: This summer's Ashes series will be one of the last in which the umpire's decision is final, after the ICC confirmed that its controversial Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) is set to be introduced permanently into the game on the basis of a "phased roll-out" from October 2009.
The ICC chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, confirmed the plans at a press conference at Lord's, following a two-day meeting in which the results of nine months' worth of trials were assessed by the ICC's cricket committee.
A final decision on whether the new system will become a permanent feature of Test cricket will be taken by the ICC's chief executives committee and their main board, whose next meetings are due to take place during their annual conference at Lord's from June 22-26.
"I'm excited that the committee concluded the umpire decision review system had a positive effect on the game," said Lorgat. "It reduced the number of incorrect decisions and also cut down on instances of player dissent.
"We will seek [provided the ICC chief executives and board agree] to roll out the system from October 2009. The time ahead of that date will allow us to firm up the playing conditions, technical specifications and protocols, ensure additional training for match officials and further brief the players so that the process can be successfully implemented."
Though designed to reduce controversy, the new system - which gives players the opportunity to request a review by the third umpire of a decision made by the on-field umpire they believed was wrong - has so far muddied the waters in several instances, not least during the Jamaica Test between England and West Indies in February.
But the cricket committee, chaired by the former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, said it believed the new system, for all its faults, had reduced instances of bad decisions.
