KEY POINTS:
New Zealand players will get their first chance to appeal against the umpire's decision when they host the West Indies in a two-test series in December.
That series is one of four confirmed in an extension to the umpire review system by the International Cricket Council, which began with Sri Lanka's home 2-1 win over India recently.
Teams are allowed three unsuccessful appeals to the third umpire per innings.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan is supportive of the system and has discussed it with national coach John Bracewell and captain Dan Vettori.
"They're both very keen to be part of the trial so we don't see any obstacle to putting that in place," Vaughan said last night.
NZC is in talks with Sky about technological issues, and the ICC is providing a neutral third umpire. Umpires are being trained how to use the system.
Vaughan believes there is an inevitability long term about use of technology. "I think it's unstoppable.
"The feedback - from players, umpires and the ICC - from the India-Sri Lanka series was overwhelmingly positive. You've got to use what you can to get more decisions right."
Two interesting sidelights came out of that series.
Player behaviour improved notably. Vaughan puts that down to players being unable to sledge a batsman who had received dubious benefit of the doubt from an umpire because the video evidence was on hand to prove the complainers right or wrong.
The other key aspect was that the number of right umpiring decisions went up with the review system, thus backing the argument to introduce methods to trim the number of incorrect umpiring calls.
The ICC estimates the percentage of correct decisions in the India-Sri Lanka series without use of the referral was 92 per cent; that went up to 98 per cent through the use of the third umpire - eight decisions out of 204 were regarded as debatable.
The India-Sri Lanka series contained 48 referrals, 39 of which were for lbw.
Twelve were successful - 11 by the Sri Lankans.
Of the 36 unsuccessful ones, 20 were made by the Indians, meaning overall Sri Lanka got 11 out of 27 appeals in their favour; India had one go their way out of 21.
The other three series set down for the referral trial are between India and Pakistan, the West Indies and England and Australia against South Africa.
* Former New Zealand fast bowler, and national bowling coach, Dayle Hadlee is to join the ICC's Global Academy in Dubai early next year.
Hadlee, 60, who took 71 wickets in 26 tests from 1969 to 1978, and 20 in 11 ODIs, will join former Pakistani allrounder Mudassar Nazar, working under former Australian wicketkeeping great Rod Marsh.
Their jobs will involve developing elite programmes, providing coaching education courses and work with local players.
"The academy will be a spectacular facility that will provide the best environment to develop talent and participation in the sport," Hadlee said.
* In what could start a thaw in relations between India's two rival Twenty20 competitions, Indian cricket board president Shashank Manohar is to meet members of the Indian Cricket League for the first time.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India last year set up the Indian Premier League in response to the privately operated ICL.
Relations have been bitter since the ICL was launched last year.
At yesterday's ICC meeting in Dubai, the Indian board agreed to meet ICL officials who are hoping to secure official recognition by the governing body.
At present, players in the ICL are not allowed to play official international cricket.
A senior BCCI official warned against reading too much into the forthcoming meeting "because it does not in any way indicate a result. It is not as significant as it is being made out to be".
Subhash Chandra, chairman of the Essel group which owns the ICL, met ICC president David Morgan last week and later predicted the rift between the ICL and the international game would be resolved "within two years".
