New ICC Rules: for Balance or Imbalance?

New set of ICC rules will be shortly implemented to International cricket. This rule has already come into effect from October 1, 2011 and the England vs. India series will be the first test for these set of rules. According to Haroon Lorgat, the rules have been devised to strike a balance, make the game more exciting and avoid improper usage of the rules. Let us take close look at the new set of rules.

• Use of Two New Balls: Change of balls after the 35th over is a common scene in the sub-continent. The white ball gets scuffed up and loses colour making it tough for the batting side. Thus the fourth umpire has to run onto the pitch and provide a shinier ball. Keeping this fact in mind the big minds in the ICC have decided to use two new balls side by side for each end. Thus the change of balls in the middle of innings has been averted. This will make the fast bowlers frown. They will have more time to swing the ball. In Australia, New Zealand and England where batsmen look to see off the new ball, this new rule will make the task more daunting. They will now have to contend with not one but two new balls. The bowl will seam around for 20 overs now (in place of 10 overs previously). But two balls rule is a serious worry for the spinners. Spinners will not have the luxury of bowling with the 20-25 overs ball. By the time the balls become 20 overs old it would be 41st over already. Thus there is a huge imbalance with this rule. While the fast bowlers will have a merry way on the seaming tracks, the spinners’ effect on the otherhand will be nullified as they have to bowl with a relatively new ball. It will also mean high scores on the slow wickets of the sub-continent.

• Out for Obstructing the Field: If the umpire feels that while running between the wickets a batsman has changed his direction without any probable cause, then the batsman might be given out on appeal by the fielding team. The umpire should be certain that the batsman has deliberately tried to block the fielders from running him out. In such a decision it is not relevant whether the run-out would have eventually been affected or not. This law according to the ICC will ensure fair play. With the implementation of this rule the batsmen have to practice on running between the wickets accordingly. Suppose a batsman hits the ball on the onside he will have to run along the right edge of the pitch and vice versa. There is too much subjectivity in this law. There are no clear definitions to situations such as a bowler standing in the way of the batsmen or fielders charging in making the batsmen change direction. This might turn out to be another controversial law implemented by the ICC.
• Powerplays between 16-40 overs: While the number of powerplay overs per innings remains 20 and the first chunk of 10 powerplay overs should be mandatorily taken at the beginning of the innings, there are changes in the other powerplay overs. None of the batting or bowling powerplays can be taken earlier than the 16th over and later than the 40th over. This will spice up the game and make sure that a routine pattern is not followed while taking the powerplays. This law will also ensure regular scores in the region of 400. If the batting team has wickets in hand and play out the 2o powerplay overs then they would be in good stead to push for the 400 runs mark. While in seaming conditions the bowling side captain would prefer to take their powerplay overs by the 25th so that they can thrust themselves into a winning position. The ICC also feels with the implementation of this rule monotony prevailing in the middle overs of one day cricket can be overcome.

• No Runner: As batsmen have been trying to use runner unfairly to conserve their energy and play a long innings, thus ICC has decided not to permit the use of runners at all. Many batsmen might have to retire back close to their landmarks which might trigger some controversies. This is a good and fair decision as there was too much subjectivity regarding the usage of runner. Now the players have to be honest about their fitness before going into a match.
• Runner can be Run Out by the Bowler for Backing Up: The bowler can run out the non-striker, before he has released the ball and completed his usual swing, if the non-striker is backing up outside the bowling crease. This will stop the batsmen at the non-striking end taking some paces to minimize the running distance.

All said and done now it is time to test the new ICC ODI rules 2011 in real playing conditions.