ICC sets new rules, use of saliva banned

The updated third edition of the 2017 Code of the Laws of Cricket, which was discussed by the Sourav Ganguly-led Men’s Cricket Committee and shared with the Women’s Cricket Committee, was approved by the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC), which then forwarded the recommendations to the CEC.

As a result, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced a number of changes to its playing conditions on Tuesday. On October 1, 2022, the major modifications to the Playing Conditions will take effect.

“It was an honour chairing my first meeting of the ICC Cricket Committee. I was pleased with the productive contribution of the Committee members which resulted in key recommendations being made. I thank all members for their valuable input and suggestions,”

Ganguly stated in an official release.

The #ICC on Tuesday announced several changes to its playing conditions after the Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) ratified recommendations from the #SouravGanguly-led Men's Cricket Committeehttps://t.co/ud4msK9FQ1

— CricketNDTV (@CricketNDTV) September 20, 2022

The ICC Cricket Committee comprises : Sourav Ganguly (Chair); Ramiz Raja (Observer); Mahela Jayawardena and Roger Harper (Past Players); Daniel Vettori and VVS Laxman (Representatives of Current Players); Gary Stead (Member Team Coach Representative); Jay Shah (Full Members’ Representative); Joel Wilson (Umpires’ Representative); Ranjan Madugalle (ICC Chief Referee); Jamie Cox (MCC Representative); Kyle Coetzer (Associate Representative); Shaun Pollock (Media Representative); Greg Barclay and Geoff Allardice (Ex Officio – ICC Chair and Chief Executive); Clive Hitchcock (Committee Secretary); David Kendix (Statistician).

The changes that will come into effect from October 1, 2022 are:

Batters returning when caught:

 Whether or not the batters crossed before the catch was made, when a batter is out Caught, the next batter enters where the end the striker was.

Use of saliva to polish the ball:

It is thought suitable for the restriction to be made permanent as it has been in effect in international cricket for more than two years as a temporary Covid-related precaution.

Incoming batter ready to face the ball:

In Tests and ODIs, an incoming batter must now be prepared to take a strike within two minutes, although the T20 International time limit of 90 seconds remains in effect.

Striker’s right to play the ball:

This is limited to make it necessary for their person or a portion of their bat to stay on the playing surface. If they go past there, the umpire will indicate and call Dead ball. Any ball that forces the hitter off the field is sometimes referred to as a no ball.

Unfair movement by the fielding side:

Now, in addition to calling dead ball, any unfair or intentional movement made when the bowler is going in to bowl could result in the umpire assigning the batting side five penalty runs.

Running out of the non-striker:

The Playing Conditions move this way of causing a Run out from the “Unfair Play” section to the “Run out” section in accordance with the Laws.

Bowler throwing towards striker’s end before delivery:

Before, a bowler might throw the ball to try to run out the striker if they noticed the batter moving toward the wicket as they started their delivery stride. This exercise will henceforth be known as a Dead ball.

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Other major rules: 

After the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League concludes in 2023, the in-game penalty that was first implemented in T20Is in January 2022 (wherein the failure of a fielding team to bowl their overs by the scheduled cessation time results in an additional fielder having to be brought inside the fielding circle for the remaining overs of the innings) will also be used in ODI matches.

The Playing Conditions for all Men’s and Women’s ODI and T20I games will be changed to permit the usage of hybrid pitches, if both teams agree. Only women’s T20I matches can currently use hybrid pitches.