ICC Cricket Committee meeting in Dubai starts today

Ball tampering, ODI playing conditions, the use of glue on pitches, referrals to the TV umpire and the volume of cricket will be among the subjects discussed by the newly constituted ICC Cricket Committee when it meets in Dubai for two days, starting today (Wednesday).

The group, chaired by former India captain and ICC Cricket World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar, includes former Australia captain Mark Taylor, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and Michael Holding, the ex-West Indies fast bowler.

It also features Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel, chief ICC match referee and former Sri Lanka captain Ranjan Madugalle, Craig Wright, the former Scotland captain, Tom Moody, the ex-Australia all-rounder who recently coached Sri Lanka to the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean, and Tim May, former Australia off-spinner and now the Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations.

The new structure is designed to be representative of all interests in the modern game and replaces the previous committee which was made up of the nominated representatives from each of the Full Members (Boards and players) and leading Associates.

Last November's ICC Board meeting in Mumbai asked the ICC Cricket Committee to review the Law as it relates to ball tampering. This followed the events at the Test match in August when the umpires awarded the match to England on the grounds of Pakistan's refusal to play after it was accused of ball tampering.

The committee has been asked to consider whether, in future, action should be taken against the captain and person/s responsible for ball tampering or just the person/s responsible: whether it is necessary to legislate to make it compulsory for umpires to first warn a captain before taking action; and whether any amendments are required to the definition of ball tampering as contained in the Laws or to the guidelines relating to this offence as set out in the ICC Code of Conduct.

A range of issues are to be discussed by the committee on this subject including power-plays; over-rates; ball changes; a free-hit for batsmen following a front-foot no-ball; and the size of boundaries.

Following its use in the UK, New Zealand and India, the committee has been asked to discuss the principle of using adhesives in the preparation of pitches. It has also been asked to determine a policy concerning its use for international matches.

The committee will discuss whether to amend the current regulations, which allow on-field umpires to consult with the TV officials on the subject of clean catches only if they are unsighted.

Any such amendment would allow the on-field umpires to consult with the TV umpire on decisions relating to any such catches they were unsure about and also allow the TV umpire to initiate contact.

The committee will also be asked to consider whether it should recommend trialing the use of player appeals to the TV umpire at this year's ICC Twenty20 World Championships if such a system, currently being trialed in UK domestic one-day cricket, proves successful.

The committee will consider the amount of international cricket being played and the effect on the standard and quality of cricket played.

Any recommendations made by the ICC Cricket Committee then go forward to the Chief Executives' Committee for approval. If that approval is forthcoming then the decisions can be ratified at the ICC Board meeting with both meetings set for London in June.

The ICC Board, which previously approved the recommendation of the ICC Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) to amend the structure of the ICC Cricket Committee, approved the personnel set to sit on it at its meeting in Cape Town in March.

The remit of the ICC Cricket Committee is to discuss and consult on any cricket-playing matters and to formulate recommendations to the CEC which relate to cricket-playing matters.

The ICC Cricket Committee (and the interests from which its members are drawn) is made up of the following people:

Chairman - Sunil Gavaskar (former India captain and opening batsman and ICC Cricket World Cup winner in 1983)

Past players (2) - Ian Bishop (former West Indies fast bowler) and Mark Taylor (ex-Australia captain)

Representatives of current players (2) - Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka captain; Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman, was the original nominee for this position but he is unavailable due to commitments playing county cricket in the UK) and Tim May (ex-Australia off-spinner, ICC Cricket World Cup winner in 1987 and now Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations)

Full Member team coach representative (1) - Tom Moody (former Sri Lanka coach)

Member Board representative (1) - Duleep Mendis (former Sri Lanka captain and now SLC Chief Executive)

Umpires' representative (1) - Simon Taufel (member of the Emirates Elite Panel and named Umpire of the Year three times in a row at the ICC Awards)

Referees' representative (1) - Ranjan Madugalle (ICC chief match referee and former Sri Lanka captain)

Marylebone Cricket Club representative (1) - Keith Bradshaw (took over as the MCC's Secretary and Chief Executive in October 2006 in succession to Roger Knight; former first-class cricketer for Tasmania in Australia. MCC is the custodian of the Laws of Cricket)

Statistician (1) - David Kendix (a statistician/scorer and the man responsible for the creation and development of the LG ICC Test and ODI Championships and nominated by the ICC to sit on the committee)

Media (1) - Michael Holding (former West Indies fast bowler and now part of the commentary team for Sky Sports in the UK)

Associate representative (1) - Craig Wright (former Scotland captain)

Commenting on the change to the ICC Cricket Committee, ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed said: "The game of cricket now has at its disposal a group of outstanding cricket brains covering all aspects of the game and with their collective input we will be able to ensure that, moving forward, a strong sport is able to grow even stronger."