Has anyone noticed that the matches in the T20 World Cup are finishing way faster as compared to the recently concluded Indian Premier League, even after starting 30 mins later.
It is interesting to know that this is not the result of constant low scores we have witnessed in the World Cup rather the result of a new rule.
This new rule, called the “Stop Clock” rule has been recently introduced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for T20 matches. The rule stipulates that the bowling team has 60 seconds (1 minute) to make a bowling change/ start the new over.
This rule was initiated by the ICC in December last year and was tried and tested till April this year post which this rule is now an official rule as per the ICC to be used in T20 cricket.
If the bowling team fails to start the new over within the 60 second time the umpire will give the captain of the bowling team a warning, if this is the case is repeated 2nd time around, another warning will be issued. The third time the bowling team will be given 5 penalty runs.
In India’s game against the United States Of America who are playing their first cricket World Cup, The USA were the first team to have ever fallen prey to this rule.
Umpire Paul Riffle, signalled 5 penalty runs in the 15th over of the second innings making the 25th match of the T20 WC the first time this law was used in international cricket.
As per my opinion, this rule brings positive signs for the game of cricket especially this format, making the game as fast as possible. Teams who used to take time analysing and causing long delays will not be the case anymore.
All the analysis will have to be done before the start of play. It’s time for the players to be on their feet at all times and make quick calls, this will help the T20 game stay relevant and might attract new viewers knowing that the game is set to be even more fast paced than before.
