The International Cricket Council has appointed India's Gundappa Vishwanath as match referee for the Natwest series, starting on London on June 24 between England, New Zealand and West Indies.

Daryl Harper and Rudi Koertzen from the Umpires panel would alternately stand with a local official during the series, the ICC said in a release.

The Natwest series would be the first ODI series with matches that would have a minimum of 20 overs for the side batting second.

This was as per decisions of the ICC Chief Executives' Committee meeting in February to lower the minimum number of overs in an interrupted innings, the release added.

The three participating nations would also be looking to climb up the rankings in the ICC ODI Championship table.

While England could climb up all the way from seventh to the second position by winning the trophy, the West Indies could move up to the fourth spot.

For New Zealand, a series win would mean grabbing the second spot from South Africa. Even if it manages to get into the final, it would easily overtake Sri Lanka, now in third place.

As per the latest rankings, Australia tops the chart with 136 points, followed by South Africa (113) and Sri Lanka (110). India occupies the fifth slot with 107 points ahead of Pakistan (106) in the sixth spot.