The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday revealed modifications to its operating rules. As of June 1, the umpires who work on the field would no more be obligated to deliver a soft signal, which sometimes causes misunderstanding.
Aside of the soft signal regulation, fielding positions with an elevated likelihood of injury now require the use of helmets, and runs earned off free hits whenever the ball strikes against the stump will henceforth be counted as runs scored.
New rules to be enforced in international #cricket from June 1; @ICC announces changes to playing conditions.@karishmasingh22 reports | #NationTonight pic.twitter.com/U3enG5DeI7
— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) May 15, 2023
A Sourav Ganguly-led male cricket council’s suggestions, that were additionally backed by the members of the women’s cricket committee and were accepted by the ICC chief executives’ committee. “The main changes to the playing conditions will come into effect from June 1 with the Lord’s Test between England and Ireland,” ICC said in a media statement.
Soft Signal : Forwarding the matter to the (Third) TV umpires shall no more need a soft call from the umpire. Before making any choice, the TV referee will confer with the on-field umpires.
Helmet : Regarding those who play the extreme injury risk situations in international cricket, helmets will be required: (i) whenever batsmen confront pace bowlers; (ii) whenever wicket-keepers are positioned adjacent to the stumps; and (iii) when players are near to the player who is batting at the edge of the wicket.
Runs off a Free Hit: In order to be identical with each of the previous runs gained through free hits, any runs earned on a Free Hit once the ball touches the stumps are going to be counted as runs.
Soft signals have been discussed at previous cricket committee meetings over the last couple of years. We also discussed player safety, which is very important for us. The committee decided that it was best to make the use of helmets mandatory in certain positions to ensure the safety of players.” Ganguly concluded.
