ICC to retain DL Method, DRS

London -  The International Cricket Council (ICC) cricket committee Friday decided to retain its controversial Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) Method, used for calculating targets in rain affected matches, and made minor modifications in some of the areas of the game.

The ICC weighed the D/L Method against the VJD systeem created by Indian software professional V. Jayadevan. The VJD system is being used in Indian domestic matches for calculating targets in rain affected matches.

"The ICC Cricket Committee considered in great detail the proposal by Mr. Jayadevan for his calculation of target scores to be adopted in place of the current Duckworth/Lewis (D/L) method. The committee expressed its complete satisfaction with the thoroughness and independence of the review comparing the two methods.

"The committee unanimously agreed that there was no evidence of any significant flaws in the D/L method nor did the committee believe that any improvements could be offered by the VJD method. Therefore the committee decided to continue with the D/L as the preferred method of calculating target scores in reduced limited overs matches," the ICC said in a statement after the meeting at the Lord's.

The committee carried out its annual review of the debated Decision Review System (DRS) and reiterated its view that, depending on the ability to finance the technology, that DRS should be implemented universally in Test and ODI cricket.

"The Committee heard that once again there was a significant improvement in decision making in matches where DRS was being used. In Test matches, the increase in correct decisions was 4.27 per cent and in ODIs was 5.01 per cent producing an overall improvement of 4.49 per cent to 98.26 per cent," the statement read.

The committee also heard that the Hotspot developers have invested in new and improved cameras which are being used in the current England v West Indies series and, according to the host broadcasters, had provided much clearer and more accurate results.

"The committee noted that the improvements in DRS technology and that DRS has almost totally eradicated player-dissent. This is an extremely beneficial side effect of the DRS," ICC general manager (cricket) Dave Richardson said.

"We have always said that DRS was there to assist the umpires in getting more decisions correct and eradicating the obvious mistakes. The statistics demonstrate that it has been effective in that objective. The committee re-affirmed this as the aim," he added.

The ICC Cricket Committee supported also that idea that World Twenty20 should being held every two years with both the men’s and women’s events held at the same time. The World Twenty20 should be 16 men’s team event from 2014 in order to encourage the development of the game

During the discussion, the committee agreed that international cricket, being the lifeblood of the world game, needs the ICC to play a leadership role to protect and promote international cricket.

Accordingly, the committee strongly believes that the ICC and its member boards need to proactively ensure that the attraction of international cricket is primary and not only maintained but enhanced.

In ODIs, the committe decided that Powerplays should be restricted to the first 10 overs plus one five over batting powerplay to be completed by the 40th over. In a non-powerplay over only four fielders are allowed outside the 30 yard circle.

"The changes will help enhance what is still an exceptionally popular form of the game. There is though a need to develop a strong identity for the 50-over game distinct from Twenty20 cricket," said Richardson.