ICC unveils major playing-condition changes across all formats from October 1
The ICC has announced sweeping changes to its playing conditions effective for series starting October 1, including penalty runs for batters who waste time, a pink-ball trial for day Tests, and tighter specifications for women's cricket balls.
The International Cricket Council has announced a sweeping set of changes to its playing conditions across all formats, effective for all international series starting on October 1, the world governing body said on Thursday.
The most eye-catching change targets time-wasting batters in men’s cricket. Under the new rules, a batter who is not ready to face the ball within the prescribed time receives a warning for the first offence, a final warning for the second, and five penalty runs are awarded to the fielding side for the third and every subsequent offence. Code of conduct provisions may also be invoked for repeated offences.
Women’s cricket gets its own ball specification: tighter size and weight tolerances will create three distinct specifications for men’s, women’s and junior cricket, replacing the practice of manufacturers producing a single ball for the women’s and junior games.
In Tests, teams will be able to agree before the match to use a pink ball in day games to combat bad light — a decision that cannot be reversed once play starts. The fall of a wicket in the day’s final over will no longer trigger an automatic early close, provided weather and light permit, and overthrows are now defined strictly as attempts to direct the ball at the stumps.
“There are some important changes to the Playing Conditions, including provisions relating to cricket balls, greater clarity around certain aspects of fielding and measures aimed at improving the pace of the game,” said Sourav Ganguly, chair of the ICC men’s cricket committee.
Sources
More on this topic: all Sport stories
