London, May 16: The top governing body of cricket, the International Cricket Council, has bowled a googly with its new set of ‘innovations’. ICC’s Cricket Committee on Playing has recommended domestic trials of innovations through which two batsmen could be dismissed off the same ball and the batting teams could dictate when the field restrictions would apply in limited overs matches. The radical changes are part of a number of recommendations made by the committee after it met in Dubai, a statement from the game’s governing body said here on Saturday. The experiments would have to be approved by the chief executives of the Test playing nations who are to meet here in June before these are implemented. Other important changes suggested include playing 12-member teams with different batting and bowling elevens in a one-day match. This means Saurav Ganguly and other captains can pack their side with seven batsmen and still have five specialist bowlers. And scrapping of overthrows as a result of the ball rebounding from a batsman’s body or bat while allowing extra runs arising out of the ball hitting the stumps has also been suggested. A typical instance of ‘double-play’ to be trialed would be an appeal for leg before and the umpire considering it while the batsmen steal a single; then the appeal is upheld while at the same time a fielder runs the non-striker out.
The batsmen will also gain more advantage over the bowlers in the shorter version of the game as they will have the liberty of dictating the opposition in which over to apply the field restrictions. Moreover, the restrictions need not be in 15 successive overs. The committee, chaired by Sunil Gavaskar, also suggested that the minimum number of overs in a one-day international be reduced to 20 from 25. In ODIs where the play begins on a reserve day, there shall be no re-toss or change in eleven made on the first day unless the two captains arrive at an agreement. Tests and one-day internationals, which are abandoned without a ball being bowled, may be included in records provided the toss has been made. With regard to playtime lost in Tests, it may be made up on the same day by extending play upto an hour and on subsequent days by up to half an hour. But at no point of time more than one hour of extra time may be played on any one day.
Clause 16 of Test playing conditions may also be amended so as to make it clear that in the event of playing time lost for any reason, it should be time lost that has to be made up and not overs lost.