The Beginning of new era of Cricket
YES YES YES!!! The wait is finally over for the cricket lovers and enthusiasts. Finally there is gonna be some action in the cricket field. We Indians love and live Cricket to the fullest. Fans will be thankful for the return of some live action after seeing repeated highlights. We can again enjoy getting tense till the last ball.
Even if cricket is returning there would be many new rules due to the pandemic situation. The same atmosphere would not be there without the amazing fans cheering for their teams. The ‘ufffss’, the ‘ohhhhs’ and the excitement of the fans in the stadium would be missed which pumps the adrenaline in people and athletes.
Let’s have a look at the new rules being implemented in different formats of the game.
THE CHANGES:
Teams will be allowed to change players who display symptoms of COVID-19 during a Test match. For the concussion replacements , the match referee will approve the nearest like-for-like replacement. These replacements would be only applicable for Test Matches and not for ODIs and T20s.
Players will not be allowed to apply saliva to shine the ball. If a player does apply saliva to the ball, there would be some leniency as players are adjusting to the new rules. If the same continues, warning will be given to the team. A team can be issued up to two warnings per innings but repeated use of saliva on the ball will result in a 5-run penalty to the batting side.
Whenever saliva is applied to the ball , the umpires will be instructed to clean the ball before resuming the game.
The appointment of neutral match officials will temporarily not be followed in all international formats due to restriction and challenges with international travel. ICC will be able to appoint locally based match officials from the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Officials and the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Officials.
Additional DRS review will be given to teams. An Additional unsuccessful DRS review for each team in each innings of a match will be allowed , keeping in mind that there would be less experienced umpires in the game at times. There would be three unsuccessful appeals for Test Matches and two for the white-ball formats.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
The first series after the hold would be England Vs West Indies that will start by 8th July. As Indies players test negative the series is confirmed to be played. The new rules will be followed in this fixture. They will train and live in a “bio-secure” environment. The series will be played at more “bio-secure” Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford rather than traditional Oval, Edgbaston and Lord’s.
“Our main objective is to deliver a safe environment for all stakeholders,” said England and Wales Cricket Board events director Steve Elworthy.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is supposed to start from October 2020 but there are still doubts of that happening but there are chances that it could be happening and that would be great news for many. Let’s hope that it happens.
For now let’s enjoy the game that would be happening.
