ICC ends mandatory use of Decision Review System

The use of DRS will need to be agreed by both teams (SKY SPORTS)

The International Cricket Council has ended the mandatory use of the Decision Review System and instead will leave it up to participating nations to decide if they wish to use the technology.

The decision was announced today following a meeting of the ICC's Executive Board.

"Although the DRS improves correct umpire decisions by around five percent and corrects any blatant errors, there are some who are not convinced by its reliability," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been a strong critic of the system — especially the use of Hotspot — but the ICC said DRS will still be used in all its global events.

"We will continue to work with interested parties to improve the system while permitting the participating teams to decide whether they wish to use it or not," Lorgat said.

The ICC has also cast doubt on the inaugural test championship taking place in 2013, saying that replacing the 50-over Champions Trophy would represent a "significant commercial challenge" and needs the consent of its broadcast partner, ESPN Star Sports.

"It would be unfortunate if the Test championship is delayed to 2017," Lorgat said. "But the board needs to balance several objectives."

The proposed Test championship would feature the top four teams in the standings.

The Executive Board also approved the qualifying process for the 2015 World Cup.

The top two finishers in an eight-team league for associate member teams will join the 10 full members of the ICC at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

The six teams that failed to qualify will then be joined by the countries finishing third and fourth in the World Cricket League Division 2 in another qualifying league to decide the remaining two qualifiers for the 14-team World Cup.

AP