ICC sanction DRS changes amid raft of rule alterations

The wicket zone has been increased to the top of the bails, in one or two alterations to the rules regarding the review system

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The ICC have confirmed a number of changes to the Decision Review System (DRS).

Retaining umpire's call was the headline decision to emerge from a meeting of the cricket committee.

Additionally, for lbw reviews going forward, the wicket zone - which previously stood at the top of the stumps - will now include the bails.

Furthermore, captains will be able to ask umpires if batters made a genuine attempt to play the ball before opting to review a failed appeal.

Third umpires are also permitted to check if batters are short of their ground while running between the wickets.

Head of the panel Anil Kumble said: "The cricket committee had an excellent discussion around umpire’s call and analysed its use extensively. 

"The principle underpinning DRS was to correct clear errors in the game whilst ensuring the role of the umpire as the decision-maker on the field of play was preserved, bearing in mind the element of prediction involved with the technology. umpire’s call allows that to happen, which is why it is important it remains."

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The wicket zone had previously been tinkered with by the ICC to include the entire stump area, meaning the ball only has to clip the stumps.

Meanwhile, protocols introduced amid the Covid-19 pandemic have been retained with the use of saliva to shine the ball banned.

Though home umpires can still be deployed - and along with it an extra DRS review - the ICC are keen to seen neutral umpires reintroduced on a regular basis as soon as possible.

In an expansion to the use of substitutes in professional cricket, which is currently only for concussion and Covid-19 purposes, the ICC will allow the status of first-class matches to be changed to allow for "unqualified use of replacement players".

All full member women's teams have been handed lifetime Test and ODI status while all matches at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will be official T20 internationals.

Tied one-day internationals in the women's game will now be decided by a super over and the discretionary five-over batting powerplay has been removed.

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