ICC open to use of non-neutral umpires in some series following Ashes DRS drama

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief Dave Richardson has said that he is open to the idea of discussing the use of non-neutral umpires for some series following the Decision Review System (DRS) drama enveloping the Ashes series.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the DRS seemed to have neared its final phases after TV umpire Tony Hill overturned on-field official Marais Erasmus' decision of turning down strong caught-behind appeal against Ashton Agar in the Lord's Test despite the Hot Spot showing no edge.

The report further said that the decision, which Hill claimed felt conclusive to him because of the sound picked up by the snickometer, made previous poor calls in the series look relatively fair and was the antithesis of the laws governing umpiring and the prevention of horrific howlers.

Although the report said that mistakes are to be expected given that umpires are only humans, it, however added that the ICC might not be so lucky the next time, and Richardson finally agreed to discuss the issue of non-neutral umpires after much conjecture.

According to the report, many say that the use of the DRS needs to be clarified given the near-constant controversy it has produced in the opening two Tests of the series, although West Indian icon Michael Holding supported the system, saying that the umpires using it are responsible for the mistakes committed.

The report also said that the problem in part is the ICC's elite umpiring panel, with eight of the game's 12 best umpires being either English or Australian, leaving Aleem Dar, Hill, Erasmus and Kumar Dharmasena as the men to oversee the back-to-back Ashes series.