Details of the time and venue of the hearing are not being revealed and it is known only that it will take place in the next 48 hours, before Saturday's NatWest Trophy final at Lord's. The board said a formal statement would be issued at the end of the hearing.

The board are anxious to limit any damage such a public hearing might bring, even though they have stressed that Lloyd was speaking only for himself when he talked about Muralitharan's''''unorthodox action''. They feel too much has already been said in public - not least the comment from their own spokesman that one option was Lloyd's dismissal.

It will not help the England coach that he has been labelled by his own board spokesman as ``sometimes indiscreet''. His remarks after a drawn Test in Zimbabwe two years ago earned him the opprobrium of a senior board member.

As a matter of protocol the ECB will pass on their findings to the Sri Lankan Board of Control for Cricket, who first expressed their concern at Lloyd's comments during the Oval Test. Match referee Ahmed Ebrahim decided that the words did not breach the International Cricket Council code of conduct. Lloyd said he intended to make his opinions known to the ICC and Ebrahim undertook to pass them on.