Good call, or should we really not give a toss?

Heads is the call! The match referee’s voice wafts across the pitch as the TV commentator and both captains crane their necks towards the tumbling coin.

Everyone hangs on what is said next. One skipper looks either smug or bemused as he or she announces whether they will bat or bowl.

Then there’s half an hour of broadcast padding until some sage utters the immortal line ‘‘good toss to lose today’’ when the other team takes charge.

Really, we shouldn’t give a toss. The International Cricket Council’s Cricket Committee, packed with former internationals and with New Zealand representation from coach Mike Hesson and chief executive David White, has shot down a proposal to scrap the toss in the new test championship.

Under the proposal the visiting team would get the option. It happens in England’s County Championship, where the away team gets the opportunity to bowl first without the coin being flipped. That competition continues strongly without the sky falling inwards.

No, no, said the committee, who argued the coin toss was ‘‘an integral part of test cricket which forms part of the narrative of the game’’.

It forms a narrative, but a largely over-inflated one. If the coin was pocketed forever it would be missed far less than the traditionalists and hand-wringers think.

From time to time, the host nation presents made-to-order pitches, as seen in England, India, Sri Lanka, and in New Zealand for the 2016 series against Australia which backfired for the Black Caps.

Scrapping the toss would put the onus on the host nation and its groundspeople to produce fairer pitches with even pace and bounce. No raging greentops or crumbly dustbowls which allow whoever bowls or bats first a match-turning advantage.

Instead of seizing the moment, the 15-strong committee, chaired by the former Indian legspinner Anil Kumble, had a dollar each way.

They rejected the no-toss idea but urged members to ‘‘continue to focus on the delivery of pitches that provide a better balance between bat and ball in line with ICC regulations’’. Status quo, then.

Skewed home advantage is one (of many) issues facing test cricket, with visiting sides getting minimal preparation time in a country amid a packed schedule. The quality of warmup opponents and pitches is often questionable.

The committee proposed clear expectations around the treatment of visiting teams, but scrapping the coin toss provides some tangible advantage for the touring side. It shouldn’t be match-altering, but it levels the playing field a touch.

Player behaviour remains a hot topic and the recommended tougher sanctions was the right call. Banter, even borderline snarling between players is OK and great theatre; personal abuse and cowardly sendoffs to a batsman is not.

Creating a new offence for offensive, personal, insulting, offensive or orchestrated abuse was a key recommendation, as was the power for a match referee to downgrade or upgrade a level of offence or sanction.

Another item not mentioned in the committee’s summary was the mess that is the decision review system. Poor reviews, no reviews, confused reviews, it all adds up a blight on the game when captains and senior players mill around deciding whether to challenge an umpire’s decision.

Removing DRS challenges from the players and allowing the third umpire to intervene for any incorrect lbw or caught behind decisions has so much more going for it. Sadly, that appears a forlorn hope and captains will continue to indulge in guessing or gamesmanship.