All the important cricket rule changes you need to know

From Thursday onwards – in time for the first Test between the Proteas and Bangladesh – there will be new rules at international level.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday revealed quite an extensive list of changes.

But we’ve narrowed them down to the most important ones.

Here’s what you need to know.

Umpire’s Call

The Decision Review System (DRS) has always been controversial because of umpire’s call (the built-in rule to protect umpires when a decision is too tight to overturn).

The rule previously punished sides that referred a close LBW decision and got an umpire’s call ruling by making them lose one of their two reviews.

Now, any umpire’s call ruling won’t result in a team losing a review.

However, there won’t be any top-ups anymore after 80 overs.

That means captains will have to extra careful.

The ‘bouncing bat’ run out

Previously, if a batsman crossed the crease for completing a run but then lost contact with the ground or his hand slipped off the handle while the bails were dislodged, he or she’d be run out.

Here’s an example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4EffXlps_c

Under the new rules, the batsman won’t be run out, provided he or she did make the crease safely.

Unfair play

A whole host of new rules have been implemented in this regard.

It is unfair to try and deceive the batsman after he or she has received the ball, like the practice of “mock fielding”.

Following the controversy of West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard bowling a deliberate no-ball to deny fellow countryman Evin Lewis a T20 century a few weeks back, there will be a clampdown.

Any bowler ruled to have bowled a deliberate no-ball won’t be able to bowl for the rest of the innings.

Also, just as a bowler is not allowed to run on the protected area of the pitch, it is now considered unfair for a batsman to take strike in there too.

Umpires have also been given the freedom to deal with any piece of play they deem to be unfair. This will be called the “catch-all law”.

Misconduct

A player can now be sent-off for serious misconduct – a level four offence – during a game.

All others will still be dealt with by match referees after a match.

Bat sizes

Batsmen won’t be allowed to play with bats that have edges thicker than 40mm as well as an overall depth of 67mm.

Cricket is being criticised for it’s increasing imbalance between bat and ball and it’s hoped this will help.