MCC World Cricket Committee recommends clock-timers

MCC World Committee, which met in Bengaluru on the March 8 and 9, has come up with a wide range of recommendations to make Test cricket spectator-friendly, the standouts among them being the introduction of clock-timers and free-hits in Test cricket.As reported before, the committee has also recommended the use of a standard red ball for the forthcoming World Test championships, beginning with West Indies hosting India in July, 2019. The recommendations will now be put forward to the International Cricket Committee (ICC) for further considerations.

One of the main reasons for slower over-rates has been the Decision Review System (DRS) which has been standardised across all Tests, but the MCC committee was of the view that players should take more responsibility in speeding up the game. Some of the recommendations included :

Introduction of a timer, to be shown on the scoreboard, which will count down from  45 seconds from the call of “over”. This would be increased to 60 seconds for a new batsman on strike and 80 seconds for a change of bowler. If either side is not ready to play when the clock reaches zero, they would receive a warning, with further infringements in that innings resulting in five penalty runs being awarded to the opposition.

A similar timer will be used at the fall of wickets but the alloted time will vary depending on the distance from the dressing room to the pitch, and at drink breaks. Batsmen and fielders have to be in position before the clock reaches zero.

During DRS reviews, the standard protocol is recommended to be cut short as soon as the TV production team is aware that it will be not out. “For example, time is often spent trying to discern an inside edge for LBWs, only to see, for example, that the ball was missing the stumps. As soon as the ball tracking has been loaded, if it will result in a Not out decision, the TV umpire should be informed immediately,” the MCC release explained.