Neutral umpires still the best way to go forward, says MCC Committee

Since then, controversies with regards to umpires have been few and far between, with people more often than not blaming technology for inaccuracy. However, the "neutral umpires" rule has come into the limelight once again post the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, which saw a whopping 15 incorrect calls made by on-field umpires, with West Indian umpire Joel Wilson having eight decisions of his being overturned by the players.

However, unfazed by the criticism, John Stephenson, head of cricket at MCC, believes that neutral umpires are still the best way to go about it, while admitting that there's an "imbalance" in the current elite panel, which sees seven of the 12 panel members hail from either England or Australia.

The issue was brought to the fore by ex-Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, who lashed out at the umpiring, stating that the rule needed a re-think. Stephenson acknowledged the comments of Ponting, while opining that more measures would probably have to be taken in order to improve the standards of umpiring and get a better split in the elite panel list.