The International Cricket Council on Tuesday brought in significant changes in the playing rules and enforced restrictions on bat sizes, with the disparity between the bat and ball in modern day cricket coming under the scanner, a release from the governing body of cricket stated.
Under the new rules, which will come into effect from September 28, a player can be sent-off for misconduct on the field. Tweaks have been made to the controversial Decision Review system too. Teams can now use DRS in Twenty20 Internationals. South Africa’s home series against Bangladesh and the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests in the United Arab Emirates will be the first time the rules will come into play.
ICC General Manager Geoff Allardice said, “Most of the changes to the ICC playing conditions are being made as a result of changes to the Laws of Cricket that have been announced by the MCC. We have just completed a workshop with the umpires to ensure they understand all of the changes and we are now ready to introduce the new playing conditions to international matches.”
Here is a list of the new rules – which will be implemented across formats – that will be introduced:
- There will be a close watch on the thickness of the bat and the size of its edges. Umpires will be handed a device to track the diameter of the bats. “The restriction on the length and width of bats remain unchanged but the thickness of the edges can’t be more than 40 millimeters and the overall depth can be 67 millimeters at the most,” the ICC release said.
- A player can be sent off for the rest of the match for any serious misconduct, such as threatening to assault an umpire, making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with an umpire, and physically assaulting a player or any other person and committing any other act of violence.
- Under the revised DRS rules, a review will now not be lost in case a decision remains unchanged solely as a result of an “umpire’s call”. Also, DRS reviews will no longer be topped up after 80 overs of an innings in a Test match.
- A batsman will be adjudged caught, stumped or run out even after the ball bounces off the helmet worn by a fielder or wicket-keeper.
- As for catches near the boundary line, ICC stated that fielders need to have their feet off the air at the first point of contact with the ball. The release stated: “Airborne fielders making their first contact with the ball will need to have taken off from within the boundary, otherwise a boundary will be scored.”
- If a batter is running or diving towards the crease and has grounded his/her bat over the popping crease but subsequently loses contact with the ground at the time the stumps are are dislodged, a run out will not be given. The same rules apply in the case of a stumping too.
- A no-ball will be called by the umpire if the ball bounces more than once before reaching the popping crease. Previously, the rule-book stated that a no-ball should be called if the ball bounced more than twice.
- A batter can now be recalled by umpires before the next ball is bowled, even if he/she has left the field after being dismissed.
- Bowlers who are adjudged bowling a deliberate front foot no-ball will be barred from bowling for the remainder of the innings.
- ‘Handling the ball’ is no longer deemed as a separate dismissal” – it has been included into the ‘obstructing the field’ law.
- If an innings is reduced to 10 overs or less in a rail-curtailed contest, a bowler’s maximum quota of overs won’t be reduced to less than two.
- Byes and leg byes off no-balls will be separately calculated in the extras column. Previously, byes or leg byes off no-balls both were recorded as no-balls .
- Bails could be attached to a string in an attempt to prevent serious injuries, like the one former South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher suffered in 2012.
