Cricket shake-up will allow umpires to send players off the pitch

THE Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodians of the game, have this week in London, confirmed that new laws will come into effect as of October 1, concerning player conduct and other significant changes.

The most striking of the changes is the increased power given to umpires, including imposing penalty runs and ejecting players from the match for breaching the player code of conduct.

There will be restrictions to bat sizes and bails will be allowed to be attached to the stumps to prevent injury.

The latter change comes five years too late for the most high-profile injury by the bails – Mark Boucher. Boucher was playing for the Proteas against Somerset at Taunton in the lead-up to the 2012 Test series against England, when a flying bail caught him square in the eye and did permanent damage.

This necessitated immediate retirement for one of SA’s best-ever batsman-wicketkeepers. The laws are also being modernised with regard to gender equality, changing the wording so that it is not gender-specific. Terms such as “batsman” and “third man” will remain but the word “he” will be changed.

For qualified umpires, who may be justifiably discouraged by excessive appealing and intimidation of match officials or other players, the sendings-off will be welcomed, although how to enforce these in club games, could be problematic.

Umpires will also be surprised to learn that the decades-old list of 42 laws is to be reduced to 41, with Law 33- “Handled the ball” removed and instead included as a subsidiary to Law 37 “Obstructing the field”.

This may lead to some confusion. The law is now part of obstructing the field, which only happens when a batsman is out of his ground, the ball is in play and the batsman blocks a fielder’s shy at the stumps with his hand or any other part of the body or his equipment, preventing a run-out.

“Handled the ball” is applied to a batsman, who in failing to play the ball at the crease with his bat or pad, instead uses his hand, which is not holding the bat, to prevent being bowled. – ANA