Revamp umpiring says Sri Lanka chief Ranatunga

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's cricket chief and World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga called for a revamping of the umpiring system in international matches on Sunday.
    
"My personal view is that two local umpires must officiate with the ICC (International Cricket Council) panel umpire sitting in the box with the match referee," Ranatunga said.
    
"The whole point is to make the right decision. If local umpires make mistakes, the ICC panel umpire can correct them after consultation with the match referee."
    
Neutral umpires currently stand in Test matches.
    
His comments came after the second Test between India and Australia was marred by umpiring rows at Sydney last week.
    
Ranatunga, who led Sri Lanka to their lone World Cup triumph in 1996, also advocated an appeal system, where a side would be limited to two or three appeals per day or per innings.
    
"This would raise the standards of local umpiring in every country. They could get assessed on their performance and appropriate action could be taken," he said.
    
An added advantage, he said, would be that more former international players could be lured into umpiring.