ICC will introduce stop clock to control the pace of the game

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In a radical move to control the pace of the game, the ICC has said it will use a stop clock between overs. If the bowling side fails to start a new over three times within one minute in an innings, it will be fined five runs.

The move, which was approved by the Chief Executive Committee, will be limited to men’s ODIs and T20Is, and will be tested on a “trial basis” for six months between this December and April 2024. The first instance where it will be used is the upcoming three-match ODI series between West Indies and England starting on December 3.

“The clock will be used to control the time taken between overs,” the ICC said in a media release on Tuesday. “If the bowling team is not ready to bowl the next over within 60 seconds of the completion of the previous over, a penalty of five runs will be imposed if this happens for the third time in the innings.”

in 2022To deal with slow over-rates, the ICC has imposed match penalties in both men’s and women’s cricket in ODIs and T20Is. Currently, as per the playing conditions, the clearance for both formats is as follows: If the fielding team fails to start the final over by the stipulated time, they are given a fielder from outside the 30-yard circle.

The third umpire, via a timer, controls the timing while accounting for any interruptions, before relaying it to the on-field match officials. This rule was introduced in T20Is in January and in ODIs during the World Cup Qualifiers in June-July earlier this year. This punishment is in addition to the financial fines given to teams for slow over rates under ICC playing conditions.

Having a stop clock is not an unprecedented move in the sport, with tennis using a ‘shot clock’ where a player has 25 seconds to prepare to serve between points. The suggestion of ‘Shot Clock’ was also given by the World Cricket Committee of MCC. in 2018 To deal with slow over rates in all three formats. The MCC committee, which included former international captains Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly and Kumar Sangakkara, had recommended that a ‘shot clock’ be used during “dead time” in the game.

Ponting had told at that time that this clock would not work during one over. “It is the final time of the game, so at the end of the over the fielders and bowlers have to come back to their positions and be ready to bowl at a given time. There can be no compromise on this. Even with the new It’s like the batsman coming to the crease – when the batsman gets there, the bowling team has to be ready and have a certain amount of time.”

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