ICC chiefs to vote on third umpire appeals plan

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) The International Cricket Council (ICC) will decide whether to allow players to appeal against decisions to the third umpire at a two-day meeting of its chief executives starting at Lord's on Sunday.

If accepted, the plan to allow three appeals per innings would have to be ratified by the ruling body's executive board which meets on Wednesday, an ICC news release said today.

The proposal was narrowly endorsed by the ICC's cricket committee in May but faces opposition from Pakistan.

''We are opposed to this proposal and we will put across our point of view strongly to the ICC,'' Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan told Reuters this week.

If endorsed, the process would be on trial at the ICC Champions Trophy in India in October and November.

The cricket committee, headed by former India opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar, gave guarded approval last month and expressed reservations about the implications such a plan would have on the spirit of the game and the authority of the on-field umpires.

The chief executives will also take up a recommendation to equip umpires with ear-pieces connected to the stump microphones for international matches, helping them hear edges more clearly.

Confirmation of guidelines relating to scheduling in the Future Tours Programme will also go before the panel.

The meetings will end with the ICC's annual conference today when South Africa's Percy Sonn is set to take over from Ehsan Mani as president.

REUTERS DH RAI2006