ICC strips umpires of right to terminate games

Dubai, Mar 2 (UNI) The International Cricket Council today decided to strip field umpires their right to terminate matches and handed it instead to match referees.

The recommendation, suggested by the ICC chief executives' committee (CEC) in January, was adopted at the two-day board meeting which ended in Cape Town today.

CEC had been asked to look into the role of match referees following discussions at last November's ICC Board meeting in Mumbai following the Oval fiasco in August 2006 in which Pakistan became the first-ever side to forfeit a Test match.

The decision, which takes immediate effect, means that it would henceforth be the responsibility of the match referee to make the final call on the termination of a match in the circumstances envisaged under ICC Code.

''The Board's decision reflects the fact that the match referee is the chief executive of the match, the person who has overall responsibility for the way the game is played and officiated,'' ICC chief executive officer Malcolm Speed said in a statement.

''This decision does not, however, detract from the on-field role of the umpires and they would, of course, still remain an integral part of the process of awarding a match in those circumstances,'' he said.

UNI