The “wicket zone” will now be extended all the way to the top of the bails. Previously it stopped at the bottom of the bails
The ICC cricket committee has made changes to the way lbws will be adjudged under the Decision Review System, introducing a slight increase to the area of the stumps a ball must be shown to be hitting for a not out decision to be overturned. This “wicket zone” will now be extended all the way to the top of the bails, having previously gone only to the bottom of the bails, which is why deliveries just clipping the bails ended up returning an umpire’s call verdict.
The umpire’s call in DRS has been a major talking point ever since it was introduced. The debate gained recent traction with India captain Virat Kohli claiming it caused a lot of confusion.
The ICC cricket committee looked into the matter at length and, as reported earlier by ESPNcricinfo, decided against the need for any kind of drastic overhaul. “The principle underpinning DRS was to correct clear errors in the game whilst ensuring the role of the umpire as the decision maker on the field of play was preserved, bearing in mind the element of prediction involved with the technology,” Anil Kumble, former India captain and current head of the committee, said. “Umpire’s Call allows that to happen, which is why it is important it remains.”
Another change pertaining to lbws is that teams can now ask the on-field officials if they think the batsman was playing a shot before they go up for a review.
More to follow