Football style red card rule for misbehaving cricketers
According to the new rules as confirmed by the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), "umpires will have the authority to send off cricket players for serious breaches of behaviour." The new rules will come into effect from 1 Oct 2017. The updated laws are a result of the recommendations made by MCC Cricket Committee, during their meeting in Mumbai last December.
MCC, guardian of cricket laws
MCC, the Marylebone Cricket Club, was the former governing body of cricket before its functions were transferred to ICC. It is charged with overseeing Laws of Cricket.
Umpire sanctions under the new code
Level 1 offences include excessive appealing and showing dissent at umpire's decision. A second level 1 offence after an official warning, will result in 5 penalty runs being awarded to opposing team. Level 2 offences include throwing the ball at a player or making deliberate physical contact with an opponent. This will result in immediate awarding of 5 penalty runs to opposing team.
Serious offences Level 3-4
Intimidating umpire/ threatening to assault another player, team official or spectator comes under Level 3 offences. The offending player can be sent off for a certain number of overs, along with a 5-run penalty. Level 4 offences, including threatening umpire/ committing act of violence on field, can result in removal of offending player for rest of the match plus a 5-run penalty.
Why the red-card rule?
Talking about the new red-card rule, MCC head of cricket John Stephenson said, " We felt the time had come to introduce sanctions for poor player behaviour and research told us that a growing number of umpires at grass roots level were leaving the game because of it." He added that the sanctions would hopefully give umpires "more confidence to handle disciplinary issues efficiently."
What are the other new rules?
The new rules will also limit the size of bat within 108mm width, 67mm depth, and 40mm edges. Going forward the laws will contain gender-neutral words. As per the changes to modes of dismissal, "a batsman will no longer be dismissed if his/her bat bounces up due to their momentum after he/she successfully grounds his/her bat after crossing the crease."
