ICC announces groundbreaking rule change after Aussie triumph at Cricket World Cup
Teams will soon be penalised five runs if they fail to bowl their overs in time.
In a move to speed up the pace of the game, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced it will experiment with a stop clock between overs. Under the new rule, a five run penalty will be imposed on the bowling side if they fail three times in an innings to start the new over within a minute.
The rule, which was approved by the chief executives committee, will only be introduced for men's ODIs and T20Is and will be tested on a "trial basis" for six months starting in December. The first match where the sanction comes into play will be in the upcoming three-match ODI series between West Indies and England, starting on December 3.
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It will not be used in Australia’s impending T20 series against India or for the Aussies ODI series against the West Indies in February. “The clock will be used to regulate the amount of time taken between overs,” the ICC said in a media release. “If the bowling team is not ready to bowl the next over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed, a five-run penalty will be imposed the third time it happens in an innings.” The third umpire will start a timer at the end of the over and account for any stoppages before relaying that information to on-field officials.
In an attempt to combat slow over rates, the ICC introduced an in-match penalty in ODIs and T20Is which forced the bowling side to have one less fielder outside the 30-yard circle if they failed to start the final over by the stipulated time. The sanction is in addition to fines that teams have to pay for slow over rates under ICC’s playing conditions.
A shot clock is far from an unprecedented move in sport and has long been recommended by cricket pundits. In tennis, a similar rule is in place, where in between points a player has 25 seconds to get ready to serve or they cop a violation.
It was first suggested to be used in cricket by the MCC's World Cricket Committee which consists of Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly and Kumar Sangakkara. They all recommended the shot clock to be used during the "dead time" in a game.
Crackdown comes months after Test fine increases
In July, the ICC Chief Executives' Committee modified over-rate sanctions in Test cricket in an attempt to encourage teams to get through their overs. From the start of the World Test Championship cycle, players were subjected to a fine equivalent to five per cent of their match fee for every over they fell short.
If a team was bowled out before the 80-over mark and the new ball was not yet due, the over-rate penalty is not imposed. In the 2023 ICC World Test Championship Final, both Australia and India were handed massive fines for slow over rates. India lost all match fees for their slow over rate and Australia were docked 80 percent of their match fees.
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