USA coach Stuart Law has revealed that the team had received warnings about slow play in earlier matches of the ongoing 2024 T20 World Cup. He acknowledged that during the game against India, the players were warned twice before being penalized five runs for slow over rates. USA became the first team to incur a five-run penalty under the new stop-clock rule, designed to speed up play in T20Is.
The rule stipulates that if the bowling team isn’t ready to bowl the next over within 60 seconds of the previous over end, a five-run penalty will be imposed the third time it occurs in an inning. Before the start of the 16th over in India‘s chase against the USA, the on-field umpire was seen speaking with USA captain Aaron Jones.
It was subsequently announced that the fielding side had been penalized five runs under this rule. India’s target changed from needing 35 runs off 30 balls to 30 runs off 30 balls. After the USA’s seven-wicket defeat to India, coach Law discussed the five-run penalty imposed on the team during the match.
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“Yeah, we talk about this. We had a few warnings in earlier games, and it’s something we do talk about to get through faster between the overs. It’s just one thing that we can improve on. I think that we’re only a fledgling team. There’s plenty to learn,” he said. “There’s not just the cricket aspect of the game of cricket.“
“But there’s also the other intricacies that need to be embedded [among the players]. It’s a rule that’s only just come in. A lot of our players wouldn’t have heard about it before we played in the Bangladesh series or the Canada series earlier this year. So, look, it’s something that we need to address, we’ll sit down and talk about, but we can improve it, yeah,” Law went on to add.
“Players know the rule, but it’s something that if you haven’t played with it for a long time, it’s very difficult to have it embedded in your brain. So, the information coming from the umpires was, they were given two clear warnings, then it’s up to the players to respond. And we didn’t respond fast enough, we didn’t do it well enough, and that’s something we can address.”
USA Coach Law Downplays Impact of Five-Run Penalty
“Five runs wasn’t going to affect the outcome of the game,” stated USA coach Law. Although the five-run penalty was imposed at a crucial moment in the game against India, Law believes it did not influence the game’s result. He asserted that the penalty neither made nor broke the contest.
“I don’t think it affected the outcome of the game. Five runs wasn’t going to affect the outcome of the game so I don’t think it rattled [the players]. No, I thought we stuck to our guns, we fought hard, we fought to the death. I thought we showed some fantastic character against one of the best teams in the world,” he commented.
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