Penalties are often seen in cricket due to slow bowling. There is even a rule to play with more fielders inside the 30 yard circle. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced a new penalty rule.
The ICC board meeting was held in Ahmedabad today. Many decisions were taken in that board meeting. One of them is a new penalty system to prevent time wastage. Bowling of a new over must be started within 60 seconds after the completion of a particular over. If the bowling team fails to start a new over within 60 seconds and this happens three times, then the batting team will get the award. An additional 5 runs will be added to the batting team’s scorecard. A ‘stop clock’ system will be introduced to measure the time elapsed between two overs. The ICC has agreed to introduce the ‘stop clock’ system experimentally in boys’ ODIs and T20 Internationals from December this year to April 2024.
ICC has also brought changes in pitch and outfield monitoring. Cricket’s governing body has made pitch evaluation easier. If a venue receives six demerit points within five years, its international status will be revoked. Where there have been allegations of pitch change against India in 2023 World Cup. This happened a few hours before the start of the India-New Zealand match at Wankhede in Mumbai. The ICC board meeting also decided to pay equal match fee to umpires in both men’s and women’s cricket. It has also been said to have an impartial umpire in the ICC Women’s Championship from January 2024.
