ICC new rules ~ Marnus Labuschagne claim to fame !!

Fielding for the Bulls in their one-day cup clash against the Cricket Australia XI in Brisbane on Friday, Labuschagne dived and then shaped to throw without the ball in hand ~ and he has become part of history !!!  As you read further, do you know, who was the first batsman to be given out by Third Umpire and when did that happen ?? – see a smart collection by Kumara Sangakkara …

Thickness of a bat’s edge can be no more than 40mm, and the thickness of the bat must not exceed 67mm at any point. The restrictions on the length and width of bats – 96.52cm and 10.8cm respectively – remain unchanged. Umpires will have a gauge to check that bats meet the new regulations.   To prevent injuries, especially to the wicketkeepers, a special mechanism has been designed which tethers the bails to the stumps. This will restrict the distance that bails can fly off the stumps without limiting their ability to be dislodged. The decision to use tethered bails, though, lies with the host board.  ~  some of the changes contemplated by ICC.

In Dec 2013 at Dubai, in the 2^nd ODI – Pak  were 157 for one in the 35^th  over with Ahmed Shehzad batting at 80 with Mohammad Hafeez.  Shehzad played  Seekkuge Prasanna bowled towards cover and returned for two.  The throw came at Shehzad’s end and on his second run, Shehzad for a moment felt that he had misjudged the two. Sangakkara seemed to have collected the ball, in a swift action removed the bails ~  Shehzad dived desperately hurt himself  only to see the ball arrive much later.

Sangakkara had faked the take and stood their smiling mischievously, having fooled the Pakistani batsman. Shehzad was angry.   Pakistani physiotherapist came rushing in, with spray and tape to attend his injury that he sustained after diving. The batsman went on to score 124 in the end but Pakistan lost the match by two wickets, with Sangakkara top-scoring for Sri Lanka with 58.  Interesting it was to see on YouTube.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has attempted to address several key issues by bringing in new rule changes. Every series beginning on Thursday or later will have these fresh alterations in regulations. Of the many, there are changes in rules in sending a player off for level 4 offences;  Umpire can now recall a dismissed batsman; batters will be caught, run-out or stumped even if ball ricochets off the helmets of the fielders or keeper;  when on field decision remains unchanged due to exercise of Umpire’s call,  the reviewing team will not lose their attempt.

One rule which I don’t find right is that -  If a batsman grounds his/her bat or part of his/her body behind the crease while regaining his/her ground before the stumps are broken, and then if he/she inadvertently loses contact with the bat, or if the grounded part of his/her body becomes airborne – while running or diving – when the stumps are broken, he/she shall not be run out or stumped.  Then there is also an attempt addressing fielding teams’ attempts to distract batsmen with mock fielding, rules regarding counting of byes off no balls, and boundary catching / saving rules. Also teams now have the luxury of 6 substitutes instead of four during test matches.

Rules do keep changing !!  ~  Queensland player Marnus Labuschagne became the first cricketer to be penalised 'fake fielding' under the new International Cricket Council (ICC) rules implemented from September 28.  The incident took place during a match between Queensland Bulls and Cricket Australia XI. Labuschagne dived and tried to stop the ball hit by Cricket Australia XI batsman Param Uppal, but missed it completely. He tried to fool the batsman by faking a throw and umpires took action against him.

With this law-breaking on-field reaction from Labuschagne, Queensland Bulls were penalised 5 runs. The cricket law was broken within 24 hours of its introduction globally. According to the MCC's new Law 41.5: "it is unfair for any fielder willfully to attempt, by word or action, to distract, deceive or obstruct either batsman after the striker has received the ball."  The umpires have the discretion to award five penalty runs if they determine that such deception is wilful.

Coming to the Q on first  batsman to be declared out by Third Umpire  - it is our own Sachin Tendulkar  in 2^nd day of 1^st Test in South Africa in Nov 14, 1992.  Karl Liebenberg was the third Umpire.

Regards – S. Sampathkumar

30^th Sept. 2017.