Neutral umpires unnecessary in the modern game insists Ricky Ponting

The succession of errors made on the opening day of the Ashes series has highlighted the limited option the ICC have when choosing umpires for Tests

Ricky Ponting has called for the end of neutral umpires exclusively standing in Test matches following the succession of errors which overshadowed the start of the Ashes series at Edgbaston.

Aleem Dar and Joel Wilson made seven errors between them during the opening day of the first Test between England and Australia, with DRS overturning a number of their decisions.

Seven of the 12 officials on the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires come from either England or Australia, ruling them out of being able to stand during the five-match series and limiting those available to do so.

Wilson and Michael Gough were added to the top tier of ICC officials earlier this week.

Two neutral umpires have stood in Tests since 2002 but the former Australia captain believes the sport has moved on to the extent that it no longer needs to restrict itself.

"I would like to think the game has come far enough now for the game to not have neutral umpires,” Ponting told Cricket Australia's website.

"People might say that with all the technology we’ve got now, it doesn’t matter that much.

"But it’s not a good spectacle when pretty obviously wrong decisions are made.

VISIT THE ASHES HUB

"There’s been a lot of negativity about the DRS over the years, but we’re pretty lucky that we had it last night."

Home umpires are already used in one-day internationals - when only one official must be neutral - and T20 matches.

The MCC will be required to change the regulation for the old model to return, which was first altered in 1992 when one umpire was required to be neutral before that number grew to two 10 years later.

As a member of the MCC Cricket Committee Ponting will raise the problem at their next meeting.

"It's already been spoken about a lot among the players," said the 44-year-old. "If it's not brought up, I'll make sure it's added to the agenda.

"Surely (English umpire) Richard Kettleborough and the like would want to be umpiring the best series.

"The best umpires can end up missing out on all the big tournaments.

"It could force umpires into retirement a bit early."

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.