ICC Rule Changes: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made important changes to the rules for men’s international cricket. They have approved a new two-ball rule for One Day Internationals (ODIs) and updated the concussion substitute rules for all men’s formats.
ICC Rule Changes
These new rules were suggested by the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee and approved by the Chief Executives Committee. They will start from June 17 for Test matches, July 2 for ODIs, and July 10 for T20 matches.
Purpose Behind the Two-Ball Rule Change
Right now, in men’s ODIs, two new balls are used at the start of the innings – one from each end. Under the new rules, two new balls will be used from the start until the 34th over. After that, from the 35th to the 50th over, the bowling team will pick one of the two balls to use from both ends. If the match is shortened to 25 overs or less before it starts, only one new ball will be used.
The ICC said the change in the two-ball rule aims to better balance the game between bat and ball. In high-scoring ODIs, bowlers often find it hard to get reverse swing or grip on the ball late in the innings, so this adjustment should help.
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Updated Concussion Substitute Protocol
For concussion substitutes, teams now have to tell the match referee before the game starts which players will be available as replacements. They must name one wicketkeeper, one batter, one fast bowler, one spin bowler, and one all-rounder. If a concussion substitute gets hurt too, the referee can allow another replacement from outside these five, as long as the new player matches the role.
Earlier this year, India’s choice of a concussion substitute caused some discussion. During a T20 match against England, India replaced a batting all-rounder with a bowling all-rounder, which was unusual. With the new rule, teams will have to name substitutes by role, which should avoid confusion.
Also, the ICC will soon follow the MCC’s decision to ban the “bunny hop” catch outside the boundary. This change is meant to make catches clearer and fairer for players.
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