Under the updated laws of the Gentleman’s game, Umpires will now have the authority to throw cricketers temporarily or permanently from a match for their bad behavior and misconduct. The new has been approved by the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC). The new rules will come into action from October 1.
Limitations on bat sizes were also announced, with the maximum dimensions being 108mm width, 67mm depth and 40mm edges, under the new laws.
John Stephenson, the MCC’s head of cricket, said, “these sanctions will give umpires more confidence to handle disciplinary issues efficiently between the match.”He further asserted, “the time had come to introduce penality for poor behavior of player.”
He further asserted, “the time had come to introduce penalty for poor behavior of player.”
The new laws follow the recommendations of the MCC Cricket Committee from their meeting in Mumbai in December, 2016. This will be the first time at new Code of Laws has been written since 2000.
According to the reports published in the Lord’s, Umpire sanctions under the new code will be:
Level 1: Offences include excessive appealing and showing dissent at an umpire’s decision. Following an official warning, a second Level 1 offence will result in five penalty runs being awarded to the opposing team.
Level 2: Offences (including throwing the ball at a player or making deliberate physical contact with an opponent during play), will result in the immediate awarding of five penalty runs to the opposing team.
Level 3: Offences (including intimidating an umpire or threatening to assault another player, team official or spectator) will result in five penalty runs and a removal of the offending player from the field for a set number of overs, depending on the format of the match.
Level 4: Offences (threatening an umpire or committing any act of violence on the field of play), will result in five penalty runs and the removal of the offending player for the remainder of the match. If the player is batting at the time of the offence, he/she will be recorded as ‘retired out’.
