The International Cricket Council (ICC) board met in Dubai this week and the future structure and context of international bilateral cricket was top of the agenda. One of the key decisions taken was the introduction of stop-clock as a mandatory playing condition in white-ball cricket and reserve days for the knockout stages at the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. The Board and the Chief Executives Committee both had extensive discussions about the future structure of the game, taking into account issues such as a wider context for international whiteball matches, the feasibility of scheduling windows and the principles of the commercial arrangements underpinning the FTP.
ICC Chairman Greg Barclay said, as quoted by ICC: “The ICC Council and Committee meetings are the forum for us to discuss the long-term future of the international game and during this series of meetings we have spent several hours discussing to think constructively about the structure of the global cricket calendar.”
“While there are no easy answers, there is a commitment to explore how context can be provided and further options will be considered at upcoming meetings,” he added.
The Council also confirmed that the stop clock will become a permanent feature in all ODIs and T20Is. The playing conditions for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup were also approved, as well as the qualification process for the 2026 edition of the event.
Under the stop clock rule trialled in men's white-ball cricket, the fielding side is expected to start a new over within 60 seconds of completing the previous over. An electronic clock, counting down from 60 to zero, will be displayed on the ground, with the third referee having the responsibility of determining the start of the clock.
The inability of the fielding side to be ready to bowl the first ball of their next over within the stipulated 60 seconds after the previous over has been completed will attract two warnings. Subsequent violations would result in a five-run penalty per incident.
The results of the stop-clock trial were presented to the Chief Executives' Committee, which showed that approximately 20 minutes of time had been saved per ODI match.
Considering the marked improvement in the flow of play, the CEC approved the introduction of the stop clock as a mandatory playing condition in all men's ODI and T20I matches between full members from June 1, 2024, including the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup has scheduled reserve days for the semi-finals and final and in the group stage and Super Eight series, a minimum of five overs must be bowled to the team batting second to constitute a match. knockout stages, a minimum of ten overs must be bowled.
The ICC Board has also approved the qualification process for the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The event, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka, will have twelve automatic qualifiers.
These include the joint hosts and the top eight teams of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, with the remaining spots (between 2-4, depending on the hosts' final positions) will be filled by the next highest-ranked teams at the ICC Men's T20I . rankings as of June 30, 2024. The remaining eight teams will be identified through regional qualifiers.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article