New ICC rule to hold captain responsible for ball tampering

Islamabad: The captain of a team will be held responsible in an international match instead of the culprit, if an umpire discovers ball tampering, according to new ICC rules.

According to The Daily Times, if an umpire spots a change in the condition of the ball, he will issue a first and final warning to the captain and the ball will be changed, the ICC said in a statement on the changes which came into effect on Tuesday. In case the ball is tampered with again, the bowling team will face a five-run penalty and umpires will not only change the ball again but the captain will be held responsible and reported, the report said. The Decision Review System (DRS) has also been tweaked for a trial period of six months until April 2014, the report added. It came into effect with the start of the first Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand at Chittagong, the report further said. Teams can top up their DRS reviews to two after the completion of 80 overs in each innings of a Test, according to the report.