ICC meet seeks to rescue Test cricket from Twenty20 influence

Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made its first move to protect Test cricket from the increasing popularity of the Twenty20 version of the game.

The ICC Cricket Committee, under the chairmanship of former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, started discussion on the issue here yesterday.

The two-day meeting will end today and the decisions taken will be put forward as recommendations before the Chief Executive Committee (CEC) and ICC Board for approval.

These committees are scheduled to meet in Dubai from June 29 to July 4. The Indian Premier League (IPL), which was launched in India last month, has turned out to be a huge success. Many nations are now queuing up to stage similar events with top cricketers.

England and Pakistan have expressed their keenness to stage such a league and could lead to the extinction of Test cricket.

"Following the changing cricket landscape after the explosion of Twenty20 cricket, the committee will discuss international cricket, the protection and promotion of Test cricket, the impact of Twenty20 cricket on other formats of the game and the impact of domestic leagues on the international game," said an ICC statement.

The two-day meeting will also discuss putting on trial an umpires' decision review system, the formulation of playing conditions for the ICC Champions Trophy 2008 and ICC World Twenty20 2009 and also the issue of bad light.

The committee will decide on the playing conditions to be adopted for the proposed trial of an umpire decision review system.

As per the trial, players will be permitted to request the on-field umpire to review his own decision, in consultation with the television umpire.

The committee will also decide on the idea of allowing the batting team to choose when to take one of the three power plays.

In-depth discussions will also be held on the research conducted on bad light.

The committee includes former Test stars Majid Khan, Ian Bishop, Mark Taylor, Tim May, Michael Holding, Steve Tikolo, Duleep Mendis and Ranjan Madugalle.

On the agenda

• The impact of Twenty20 and how to protect and promote Test cricket.
• The trailing of umpires' decision review system.
• The formulation of playing conditions for the 2008 ICC Trophy and 2009 Twenty20 World Cup.
• To study the volume of cricket.
• To discuss researched material on bad light.