The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced a series of updates to its playing conditions on Thursday, including a new five-run penalty for batters found wasting time during matches. While existing rules already allow an incoming batter to be dismissed “timed out” if they take too long to face their first delivery, no fixed limit previously existed for time taken between deliveries.
Stricter Time Management Rules
- First offence: Official warning issued to the batter.
- Second offence: Final warning issued to the batter.
- Third and subsequent offences: Five penalty runs awarded to the fielding side.
The ICC clarified that these warnings reset at the end of an innings or after 80 overs. Generally, batters are expected to be ready as soon as the fielding team and the bowler are prepared to play. In addition to pace-of-play adjustments, the governing body introduced tighter regulations regarding the size and weight of cricket balls, establishing three distinct specifications tailored for men’s, women’s, and junior cricket. Furthermore, the ICC will now allow pink balls, typically reserved for day-night Tests, to be trialled in daytime Tests if both participating teams reach a mutual agreement prior to the match.
