The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), custodian of laws of the game, have suggested some changes concerning the game of cricket. They have opined on the need to change rules for bouncers, umpire’s call and the idea of having more home umpires keeping in mind the state of the game in current COVID scenarios. The MCC World Cricket Committee met recently via a video conference to discuss issues facing the game.
“The committee heard that MCC is to embark on a global consultation on whether the Law relating to short-pitched deliveries is fit for the modern game,” the Committee said in a statement issued on Monday.
“It is MCC’s duty to ensure that the Laws are applied in a safe manner, a viewpoint consistent across all sports. “With research into concussion in sport having increased significantly in recent years, it is appropriate that MCC continues to monitor the laws on short-pitched bowling, as it does with all other Laws.”
The Committee, headed by Mike Gatting and which also includes the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Sourav Ganguly and Shane Warne, stressed on maintaining the balance between bat and ball.
Minutes From the MCC Meeting
The MCC World Cricket committee met recently via Conference Call.
Key discussion points of the meeting were:
– Short-pitched bowling
– Decision Review System (DRS)
– Saliva on the ball
– Future of @ICC World Test Championship
– Host-country umpires in Tests
– Women’s cricket— Marylebone Cricket Club (@MCCOfficial) February 22, 2021
Two key decisions that were discussed apart from the talk on bouncers in the meeting was on ruling out the umpire’s call from the sport and the preference of home umpires.
Few members of the committee were keen in ruling out the umpire’s call as to when the same ball could either be Out or Not Out. It was felt that the original decision should not have a bearing once an LBW appeal has been referred.
“They (the committee) felt it would be simpler if the original decision was disregarded on review, and that there was a simple Out or Not out, with no Umpire’s Call. The ‘hitting zone’ of the stumps would still be retained, which had to be hit by at least 50 percent of the ball for an Out decision. If such a protocol was introduced, they felt it should also include a reduction to one unsuccessful review per team, or for the relevant review to be lost irrespective of its outcome,” the statement said.
They also backed the idea off having home umpire’s for or bilateral series saying that the change was made keeping in mind the difficult times in which the sport is being played.
“A consequence of the pandemic has been the use of host-country umpires in Test cricket, with each team being given an extra review per innings. So far, the quality of the umpiring has appeared to be of a good standard, with very few, if any, accusations of bias, as well as the presence of DRS to correct any mistakes,” the statement said.
Other major points of discussion apart from the above-mentioned ones in the meeting was a debate on the prohibition of using saliva on the ball, women’s cricket and the cycle between 2021 and 2023 on ICC events.
