The ICC has announced numerous amendments to the Playing Conditions, all of which will take effect on October 1, 2022. In the MCC’s revised 3rd Edition of the 2017 Code of the Laws of Cricket, the Men’s Cricket Committee, chaired by former India captain Sourav Ganguly, made recommendations for improvements to the Playing Conditions.
The Women’s Cricket Committee also received the findings and approved the recommendations. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia next month will be the first tournament to implement the revised Playing Conditions, which will go into effect on October 1, 2022. The following are the main changes:
Batters who are caught returning:
Whether or not the batters crossed before the catch was made, when a batter is out Caught, the next batter enters where the end of the striker was. Previously, if the batters crossed the plate before a catch was made, the next batter would be at the non-end striker’s and the non-striker would take the next pitch.
Saliva is used 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.
Arriving hitter poised to take the pitch:
In Tests and ODIs, an incoming batter must now be prepared to take a strike within two minutes; in T20 Internationals, the current time limit of 90 seconds applies. In ODIs and Tests, the entering batter now has two minutes to take a strike, down from three. If they don’t, the fielding captain may request a timeout.
Right of the striker 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 a Dead ball. Any ball that forces the hitter off the field is sometimes referred to as a no-ball.
