MCC brings Changes in cricket rules

The Marylebone Cricket Club has changed a few cricket rules which will take effect from October 1, 2010. Some of these new rules include empowering the umpires with more decision-making capabilities around bad light and the fielders being not allowed to start from beyond the boundary. 

So far, in Test match cricket, the umpires would offer the light to the batsmen in case they deemed it unfit for play. Usually, it was done if the bowlers were dangerous to face – that is the pace bowlers. However, the rules have now been tweaked to ensure that the batsmen do not get an unfair advantage by taking the light when they desire and continuing to bat at the same level of light when it is going to be an advantage to them.

The play will now be called off only when the conditions will be deemed a “dangerous or unreasonable” with the players not being allowed to go off the field when the floodlights were being switched on. It usually takes 5-10 minutes for all the lights to start coming on and another 10 for them to take full effect.

The MCC has also said that the fielders will be allowed to catch the ball at the boundary, throw it up in the air, go outside the playing arena, regain their balance and come back inside and catch it. However, the MCC has said that the fielders will not be allowed to start off from outside the playing arena when the bowler has started his run-up.

Amongst some of the other laws introduced, a batsman running on the track will be afforded one warning before his team gets penalised five runs. Earlier, batsmen were given two warnings. The same rule will be applicable for the fielders as well.

There has also been a change to a law that was probably the most interesting one. The MCC has mandated that the bowlers will not be allowed to practice with the ball used in the game by bowling to the fielders. The MCC has said that this constitutes time-wasting apart from damaging the ball.

Author: Daniel Smith