Dubai: Bowlers can now breathe a little easy following the International Cricket Council (ICC) board’s decision to do away with close-in fielders in the first 10 overs, get rid of batting Powerplay and allow five fielders outside the 30-yard circle in the last 10 overs of a One Day International innings.
These new playing conditions will commence from July 5 with free-hits being awarded for all no-balls in ODI and Twenty20 Internationals, not only when bowlers violate the front-foot rule. The changes to the playing conditions were ratified during the annual conference in Barbados. These recommendations of ICC’s cricket committee, headed by former India captain Anil Kumble, were made in May.
The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand had seen batsmen dominating bowlers and teams posting huge totals. Bowlers were often at the mercy of the batsmen after ICC had altered the fielding restrictions in October 2012 to ensure that no more than four fielders could be outside the circle at any stage of an ODI.
Commenting on the new changes, ICC chief executive David Richardson said: “We have thoroughly reviewed the ODI format after a very successful ICC World Cup. There was no need to make any radical changes to what has proved to be a vibrant and popular format but we wanted to take this opportunity to make the format simpler and easier to follow for the public as well as maintaining a balance between bat and ball.”
Incidentally, Richardson had candidly admitted that the balance of power had shifted in favour of batsmen and hence was keen to rectify the anomaly. “We wanted to ensure that ODI cricket retains the attacking, aggressive and thrilling brand, which has recently become the hallmark of 50-over cricket and sets us on a positive path to the next World Cup in England in 2019,” he added.
Richardson also revealed that ICC along with the MCC will commission research into changes to the cricket ball and also look into the bats. Of late one has seen even mishits from batsmen sailing out of the ground for a six.
Plans are on to change the thickness or the depth of seam of the ball. In one of the remarks to a cricket website, Richardson stated: “There is a view if we sanction or look at some change to the thickness or the depth of seam it might actually be what we are looking forward to give the seam bowlers a little bit more help, also aid swing and to enable the spinners to get more grip and to spin the ball more if we tamper with the seam.”