New rule to turn Cricket more exciting from tomorrow

In a move to expedite the pace of play, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced an experimental use of a stop clock between overs. The ICC stated in a media release on Tuesday that the clock will regulate the time taken between overs, a concept previously recommended by an MCC committee, including former international captains Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly, and Kumar Sangakkara, in 2018.

The proposed ‘shot clock’ aims to eliminate “dead time” during a game, drawing inspiration from its usage in other sports like tennis. The initiative gained prominence after Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews became the first batsman to be dismissed “timed out” in the recent World Cup, igniting discussions about the need to speed up cricket matches.

Under the stop clock rule, if the bowling team fails to start the next over within 60 seconds of completing the previous over, a five-run penalty will be imposed upon the third occurrence within an innings. The rule will be implemented on a trial basis for men’s ODIs and T20Is for six months starting from December and running until April 2024.

The inaugural trial will take place during the three-match ODI series between West Indies and England, commencing on December 3. Notably, the ICC had introduced in-match penalties in ODIs and T20Is in 2022 to address slow over rates. This included the docking of one fielder from outside the 30-yard circle if the final over does not commence within the stipulated time. The third umpire oversees the time regulations, accounting for any stoppages, and relays the information to on-field officials, with the system having been introduced in T20Is in January and in ODIs during the World Cup Qualifiers in June-July. Monetary fines for teams with slow over rates remain in effect. It has to be seen how it impacts the conduct of the players and the teams and play in particular with the new rule.