World Indoor Cricket Federation announce major rule changes for World Cup

The World Indoor Cricket Federation (WICF) announced earlier today, via a press release, the introduction and adoption of three rule changes for the upcoming World Cup in Sri Lanka this September.

The rule changes and modifications, according to the Federation, aim to “enhance the game experience for both viewers and players,” with the focus on indoor cricket’s action element, to make the game “faster and more dynamic,” and lead to more entertaining cricket overall.

Board members from the WICF member nations – Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England, India, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and USA, voted for the adoption of the rule changes at a WICF meeting last weekend. A consultation period took place prior to the vote whereby Members discussed the changes and obtained feedback from relevant stakeholders.

The Federation have confirmed that these changes will only be in place for the upcoming World Cup. Following the tournament, they will be reviewed, and feedback obtained from the relevant stakeholders to determine whether they will stay in place, be modified, or removed.

Second-ball rule adopted

The most fundamental shift in the official rules, which is likely to cause much debate, is the introduction of the second-ball rule.

Under the current Official Rules of International Indoor Cricket, as available on the WICF’s website, Rule 17H, which deals with the Third Ball, states that “should the score remain unchanged after two deliveries, the umpire will call "Third Ball". On the next delivery, the score must change, or a dismissal will be recorded against the striker.”

The third ball rule applies where there are two consecutive dot balls faced by the striking batter. The score must then change on the third delivery faced, or this will result in a dismissal (and minus five runs) for the batting pair.

A unique hallmark of the indoor game, the WICF has now changed this to a second ball rule, where it provides that:

• The score must now change after one dot ball

• The striker is considered to be out of their ground once the ball has been released by the bowler (except where a wide or no-ball has been delivered).

Rule 17H had also provided for a clause relating to the non-striker stopping their motion on a third ball, more commonly known as “hesitation”. This stated, that, in the third ball scenario, if the non-striker:

• Stopped and/or attempted to return to their original crease, the striker would be given out (v); or

• Made no clear attempt to make a physical run, the striker would be given out (vi).

This rule will now be removed, and replaced with the following ruling:

• As referred to above, the striker is considered to be out of their ground once the bowler has released the ball. This means that if the striking batter misses the ball and the wicketkeeper breaks the stumps with the ball in hand, whilst the batter is still in their crease, this will be considered out and a dismissal to the batting pair.

The non-striker, will, as previously, need to reach the crease at the strikers end, before the wicketkeeper breaks the stumps, to avoid being dismissed.

The above will apply with the exception of where a wide or no-ball is delivered by the bowler.

Decision Review System (DRS) to be used for all World Cup matches

The DRS system will be utilised at all matches across the World Cup for the first time, “where available,” according to the WICF. At the previous World Cup, in Melbourne in 2022, these were only used for finals matches.

Under this rule, each side will have up to two unsuccessful reviews per innings, with a limit of 10 seconds to decide whether to review the umpire’s decision at the time. The umpires will not initiate the DRS themselves.

The DRS will only apply to decisions made by the umpire on decisions relating to the following dismissals:

• Run outs

• Stumpings

Replacement players available for concussion and head injuries

Changes to safety protocols will now allow for a replacement player to enter a match, if another player is ruled out during a match, either due to concussion or the failing of a head injury assessment, after review by an independent, accredited medical professional.

Previously, the player who replaced the injured player would only be inserted into the match as a substitute fielder, however this new change will mean that the substitute player will be allowed to bowl, bat and field during the match (or complete the batting or bowling allotment remaining of the outgoing player).

Other rule changes rejected at meeting

The WICF voted on a number of proposed changes at their meeting, with the three rule changes above being the only ones approved.

Other rule changes which had originally been proposed, but on which a unanimous vote was not reached, were:

• If a player is bowled out, there will be a deduction of five runs. For all other dismissals, a deduction of three runs will be applied. All misconduct will result in a five-run penalty.

• A new line added 500mm behind the centre line, requiring batters to run further.

• Double plays - if a player is dismissed in any manner apart from bowled, the fielding side has the opportunity to effect, a second dismissal by running either of the batsman out resulting in a second dismissal, and a deduction of six runs (based on the rule change above for the deduction of runs for different types of dismissals).

• A no-ball by the bowler or a fielding infraction that results in a no-ball will result in the next ball being a free hit for the batting team. This means the only out for that ball available to the fielding team is a run out.

• It was intended that the second ball rule was not meant to be implemented in isolation and was grouped alongside the change in the deduction of runs and double play suggestions.

de Mel: We are not trying to penalise players, but make the game more interesting

Technical Head of the Ceylon Indoor Cricket Association (Sri Lanka), WICF Board Member and longtime administrator of Sri Lankan Indoor Cricket, Hiran de Mel, says that the increased ability to stream matches online to viewers, will be a key part in growing the game. With this in mind, the Federation is trying to find ways to make the game more interesting to the average viewer so they will continue to follow it.

“We need more followers and viewers, we need to continue to try and globalise the game. You will only be able to get so many spectators into indoor stadiums for matches, so a key focus has to be in engaging those people watching online. We are trying to make the game a little faster, more action-based, have more active gameplay, and therefore have viewers see the game from a different lens in terms of its intensity and pace,” said de Mel.

“We are trying to make the game more interesting; we are not out to penalise the players. The players are the main focus of the game; they are the people who make the product. We think this will provide more opportunities in the games played – bowlers will believe they can take more wickets; batters will have to improve their technical capability and deal with more pressure. I do acknowledge it will present an extra challenge for players (the second-ball rule); however, elite level indoor cricket players will find many other things in the game which are much harder to execute than adjusting to the second ball. In other words, we think that indoor cricket players who excel in such batting, bowling, and fielding skills would be of great potential to the modern, shorter version of outdoor cricket.”

“The DRS is also an important change because for such an important event, we want to make sure we are getting decisions right and assisting our umpires in doing so. Our international umpiring pool, of those individuals who can umpire at the very highest level, is not large. So, we see this as an essential tool to help our umpires perform at their best and be confident in the decisions they make.”

With the ability of their pinnacle event to bring in an even larger viewing audience, de Mel says it is important that this World Cup makes the desired impact, citing the limited financial resources in the game.

"If we can make the game interesting, we get more viewers and then can hopefully get sponsors on our side and start to really financially sustain ourselves as a sport. This will assist the same players who play these games - in starting to bring down the costs they have to contribute to play at these tournaments. This World Cup is of vital importance, with the broadcast coming from a number of different mediums, including national TV in Sri Lanka,” de Mel said.

Limited adjustment time given to participating nations

Countries will have to adjust quickly to the second ball change, with Australia planning to introduce it at their National Championships, and New Zealand at their Senior Provincial Championships, both scheduled for next month. New Zealand teams recently trialled some of the proposed changes as well as the second ball rule during their invitational series fixtures late last month.

Other countries such as the UAE, Sri Lanka, India, and South Africa (who have just named their Men’s World Cup squad) have tournaments in the pipeline before the World Cup, along with World Cup trials, and will be using this time to adjust to the new change. It is likely to disadvantage teams such as England, who have just entered their outdoor cricket season for the summer and are unlikely to go into the tournament with the rule being used during serious competition (their National League runs from January to April and the British Open is in early November). Singapore remains without an indoor stadium and will not likely have one built until later this year.

Umpires will also be under the scanner and the cost of DRS technology (extensively used for tournaments in the UAE but not elsewhere) means it is unlikely that they will have the opportunity to use the DRS prior to the tournament commencing. They will also still be required to keep a tight hold on the timing of games due to the likely delay caused by the additional time for the review of decisions, and adapting to the technology required in such reviews. The timing of innings for each side in a match remains unchanged.

The WICF are currently in the process of formalising these rules and they will be released to all participating nations in the upcoming period, whilst being adopted into the Official Rules of International Indoor Cricket.

Image: Getty Images for Cricket Australia