Australia's call for standing "best umpires" irrespective of their origin in the forthcoming Ashes series has received a cool response from England captain Andrew Strauss, who favours the provision of having neutral umpires.
Strauss dismissed the idea of Australian and English umpires officiating in the high-profile series later this year instead of employing neutral umpires.
"From my point of view, the regulations the ICC have in place are perfectly adequate and I don't see any reason to change that," Strauss was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.
Strauss was backed by the ECB, who said that the apex cricket body has a sound system of umpiring in place.
"The ICC have a well-established principle of appointing neutral umpires for Tests. It's a process that the ECB are extremely comfortable with," an ECB spokesman said.
There are 10 umpires on ICC's Elite Panel and as per the existing rules, only neutral umpires are allowed in Tests.
That means Australian Simon Taufel, considered the best in business, and England's Mark Benson cannot officiate matches during the Ashes series.
Cricket Australia's Head of Communications Peter Young had said that the best umpires should stand during the Ashes series.
"If we lived in a perfect world it would be great if the forthcoming Ashes series, played between the best two teams in the world, could have the world's best umpires officiating.
"At the moment, the best umpires officiating are Australians," Young said.
