‘Red card’ for cricket players! Football-style rule soon in game, confirms MCC

According to reports, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has also prescribed restrictions on bat sizes besides a change in the run out law which is meant to protect the batsman whose bat has bounced in the air once they have crossed the crease.

In what is a major change in how cricket, the traditional gentleman’s game, is played, on field umpires will have the authority, like their football counterparts, to send off players who have committed serious breaches of behaviour. This will be part of the new laws of cricket that will come into effect from October 1 this year, confirmed Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

Once the new law is implement, from October 1 this year, umpires can take a call on whether to send off a player for a breach (file pic for representative purpose). (Getty Images)

The new laws are based on the recommendations of the MCC Cricket Committee which had a meeting in Mumbai last December.

Umpire sanctions under the new code

Level 1: Offences include excessive appealing and showing dissent at an umpire’s decision. Following an official warning, a second Level 1 offence will result in five penalty runs being awarded to the opposing team.

Level 2: Offences (including throwing the ball at a player or making deliberate physical contact with an opponent during play), will result in the immediate awarding of five penalty runs to the opposing team.

Level 3: Offences (including intimidating an umpire or threatening to assault another player, team official or spectator) will result in five penalty runs and a removal of the offending player from the field for a set number of overs, depending on the format of the match.

Level 4: Offences (threatening an umpire or committing any act of violence on the field of play), will result in five penalty runs and the removal of the offending player for the remainder of the match. If the player is batting at the time of the offence, he/she will be recorded as ‘retired out’.

“We felt the time had come to introduce sanctions for poor player behaviour and research told us that a growing number of umpires at grass roots level were leaving the game because of it,” John Stephenson, the MCC’s head of cricket, was quoted by PTI.

“Hopefully these sanctions will give them more confidence to handle disciplinary issues efficiently, whilst providing a deterrent to the players,” added Stephenson.

According to reports, the MCC has also prescribed restrictions on bat sizes besides a change in the run out law which is meant to protect the batsman whose bat has bounced in the air once they have crossed the crease.

“If the bat (held by the hand) or another part of the batsman’s person is grounded beyond the popping crease and this contact with the ground is subsequently lost when the wicket is put down, the batsman will be protected from being run out if he/she is running or diving and has continued forward momentum towards the stumps and beyond.”