To ensure that every match has a smooth and steady rhythm, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that it will carry out stopwatch tests during the over breaks. If the bowling side is late by a minute three times in one inning, it will be penalized 5 runs.
The use of a stop clock is not a strange thing in sports, as it has been so in tennis where the clock gives a player 25 seconds between points to get ready for serving.
The world cricket committee of the MCC in 2018 suggested introducing a ‘shot clock’ to eliminate slow over rates in all three formats. The committee of the MCC that included ex-international captains Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly, and Kumar Sangakkara, pushed for the ‘shot clock’ usage during “dead time” of a game.
Ponting had earlier announced that the clock was not to be functional during an over. “As it is dead time in the game, the fielders and bowlers have to be back in position and ready to bowl at a certain time at the end of the over. That cannot be changed. The same applies to a new batsman coming to the crease; the bowling side has to be ready when the batsman comes and has had a certain limit of time.”
What is the Stop Clock Rule and its Penalty?
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The International Cricket Council, in a press statement, announced the use of a clock to regulate the time taken between overs. If the bowling team is not ready to bowl the next over within 60 seconds after the previous one, a 5-run penalty will be imposed on the team for the third time in that inning, as per the condition laid down by the ICC.
When did the Stop Clock Rule Come into Force?
The CEC endorsed the policy, which was to l be valid only for men’s ODIs and T20Is and would be a test for 6 months from December 2023 to April 2024. The West Indies and England played a 3-match One-Day International series in December 2023, starting from December 3rd, and this was the first time such a rule would be applied.
Rules Already in Place to Combat Slow Over Rate
The ICC monitored over-rate problems and rolled out a penalty that took place during matches in both men’s and women’s ODIs and T20Is in 2022. The fielding team can lose 1 fielder in any configuration outside the 30-yard circle if they do not start the last over at the specified time.
The third umpire has a timer that keeps track of the time allowed for the over while deducting any interruptions of play before he relays the time to the on-field match officials. This rule, which was implemented in T20s in January 2023 and later in ODIs at the World Cup Qualifiers in June and July 2023, is an extension of the financial penalties that are a part of the ICC’s playing standards for slow over rates.
