New over-rate penalties to be trialled by ICC

Australia's World Cup-winning one-day team will have a new wrinkle to contend with when they next play after the ICC announced it will trial a stop clock in a bid to speed up over rates.

Victorious Aussie players not involved in the T20 series that begins in India tomorrow night touched down at home airports this morning to news a five-run penalty will be introduced if bowling teams take too long between overs.

The measure was one of several announcements from the latest ICC board meeting held in the wake of Sunday's World Cup final where Australia trounced host nation India to lift their sixth men's ODI World Cup.

The stop clock is to be introduced on a trial basis in men's ODI and T20I cricket from December 2023 to April 2024, which will be used to regulate the amount of time taken between overs.

If the bowling team is not ready to bowl the next over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed, a five-run penalty will be imposed the third time it happens in an innings. 

The stop clock will apply on a trial basis for men's ODI and T20I cricket from December 2023 until April 2024.

If the bowling team is not ready to bowl the next over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed, a five-run penalty will be imposed the third time it happens in an innings.

While Australia's T20 series with India continues into December, it's expected the trial will begin with England's ODI series against the West Indies in the Caribbean.

Australia's home white-ball matches back-end the Aussie summer, with a three-match Dettol ODI series against the West indies beginning after the KFC BBL on February 2, and a three-game Dettol T20 series against the same opposition starting on February 9.

Men's Dettol ODI Series v West Indies

 

February 2: MCG, 2.30pm

February 4: SCG, 2.30pm

February 6: Manuka Oval, Canberra, 2.30pm

 

Men's Dettol T20I Series v West Indies

 

February 9: Blundstone Arena, Hobart, 7.00pm

February 11: Adelaide Oval, 6.30pm

February 13: Perth Stadium, 4.00pm

 

In other developments from the ICC Board meeting, the U19 World Cup has been moved from Sri Lanka to South Africa early next year.

Sri Lanka will remain able to play international cricket, but the island nation's membership of the ICC was suspended due to government interference on November 10, after the country's ministry of sport dismissed the board of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and replaced it with an interim committee.

"After hearing representation from SLC, the ICC Board decided that Sri Lanka can continue to compete internationally both in bilateral cricket and ICC events after being suspended recently for breaching its obligations as a Member in particular the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and without government interference," the ICC said on Tuesday.

"However, funding to SLC will be controlled by the ICC and the ICC Board confirmed Sri Lanka will no longer host the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2024, which will now be held in South Africa."

The 16-nation tournament is scheduled to start on January 13 with Australia drawn with Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Namibia in the first-round group stage.

Sri Lanka are due to tour England for a three-Test series next August but have no other fixtures scheduled in red or white-ball cricket.

The ICC also approved new gender eligibility regulations whereby any male or female participant who have been through any form of male puberty will not be allowed participate in the international women's game.

That change in regulations appears to have been prompted by the case of Australian-born transgender cricketer Danielle McGahey, who became the first transgender cricketer to take part in an official international match when she featured in a Women's T20 fixture for Canada against Brazil.

McGahey announced her international retirement on Instagram following the ICC's announcement.

The Brisbane-born 29-year-old, who played grade cricket as a man in Melbourne, moved to Canada in 2020. Having transitioned socially, then medically, to a woman she began playing women's cricket in Canada and was called into the national team in October 2022.

The opening batter went on to play all six of Canada's matches during the Women's T20 World Cup Americas region qualifiers event in Los Angeles, to add to national team appearances previously in fixtures which did not hold official ICC status.

Canada came second in the four-team event, failing to qualify, with McGahey making 118 runs at 19.67 with a top score of 48.

Under the ICC's previous regulations, which were effective from October 2018 and amended in April 2021, McGahey had satisfied all of the eligibility criteria.

However, following an ICC board meeting, new gender regulations have been announced, which follow a nine-month consultation process with the sport's stakeholders.

The review, led by the ICC medical advisory committee and chaired by Dr Peter Harcourt, relates solely to gender eligibility for international women's cricket. Gender eligibility at domestic level is a matter for each individual member board.

Cricket Australia's policy on inclusion of transgender and gender-diverse players in elite cricket is based on an eligibility requirement of a blood concentration of testosterone of less than 10 nmol/L1 continuously for a period of no less than 12 months.

Changes to the pitch and outfield monitoring regulations were also approved, including a simplification of the criteria against which a pitch is assessed.

The threshold for when a venue could have its international status removed has also been increased from five demerit points to six over a five-year period.

And the ICC has endorsed a plan to accelerate the development of female match officials, including equal match-day pay for ICC umpires across men’s and women’s cricket, and ensuring there is one neutral umpire in every ICC Women’s Championship series from January 2024.