Lloyd to head ICC's cricket committee

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd was appointed chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) cricket committee on Thursday.

Lloyd, who led West Indies during their glory days in the 1970s and early 1980s before becoming an ICC match referee, was chosen ahead of former Pakistan skipper Majid Khan to replace India's Sunil Gavaskar, who stepped down in May.

The ICC board, meeting at its Dubai headquarters, ruled out immediate security concerns over Pakistan staging the ICC Champions Trophy in September, saying it would conduct a review after the ongoing six-nation Asia Cup.

It also tightened rules to allow substitute fielders only for injuries or illness in future, to clamp down on "comfort breaks". It ratified the move to introduce a one-over eliminator in place of the bowl out to decide tied games for the Champions Trophy semi-finals and final and the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup.

The interval in rain-shortened one-day games will be judiciously shortened instead of trimming the break only if an hour's play had been lost.

Last month, New Zealand lost a one-dayer in England after rain forced them off the field nearing victory, having sat out the full interval in good weather despite earlier interruptions.