By Scott Heinrich BBC Sport

White lines are the latest innovation from the ICC

The fine line between right and wrong in umpiring decisions could become a little thicker thanks to the International Cricket Council.

Lbw decisions could be made much easier for umpires when parallel painted white lines on pitches are tested - possibly as early as October.

It is the latest radical plan from the ICC in its ongoing drive to minimise the margin of error.

Television audiences have become well-versed in the intricacies of lbw laws in the advent of virtual reality lines superimposed onto instant replays.

Like umpires, they know a batsman cannot be given out if a ball pitches outside leg-stump or if he is struck on the pads outside the line of off-stump.

But now it is the umpires themselves who will be given the luxury, and who resultantly will have less to fall back on when they make a mistake.

"We haven't decided whether to use an unbroken or dotted white line, but this is an experiment worth introducing," said David Richardson, the ICC's cricket manager.

Appeals for lbw could become less frequent if players know where a ball has pitched

The thought of turning 22 yards of sacrosanct turf into something resembling a train track will be abhorrent to some.

But, rest assured, the ICC will first road test the lines in junior and second XI cricket in the UK before making a decision whether to implement it in all games.

Recent years have seen the introduction of the television umpire to rule on run-outs, stumpings and close-to-the-ground catches.

The innovations have been introduced to make life easier for umpires, and this new one is no different.

But where previous advances have been made to take power away from the men in the middle, this one keeps it firmly in their grasp.

Why the ICC have shunned the TV umpire and the obvious advice he can give on lbw decisions is unsure.

But of lesser uncertainty is the impact these obtrusive parallels will have on the players, not least the batsmen who will never need to take guard again.

What is more, ordinary batters will constantly be reminded of what the good ones already know - where their off-stump is during the all-important process of shot-selection.

A further umpiring aid, earphones linked to stump microphones, will undoubtedly assist in the detection of faint edges, and that great deceiver bat-on-pad for that matter.

Intriguingly, the ICC is contemplating whether to increase the number of on-field umpires from two to three.

The third would probably be stationed in a position to monitor no-balls, leaving the umpire at the non-striker's end free to concentrate on the batsman and those pretty white lines.

"Other sports have a larger number of umpires, who are occupied for a shorter length of time," said Malcolm Speed, the ICC's chief executive.

"We want to minimise mistakes."

And the white line fever that can follow them, no doubt.