All Format Changes
Penalties for Batters wasting time
This playing condition has been refined.
If a batter is not ready to face the ball within the prescribed time, a warning will be issued for the first offence, a final warning for the second, and five penalty runs awarded to the fielding side for the third and each subsequent offence.
Code of Conduct provisions may also be invoked in case of repeated offences.
Tighter Tolerance for size and weight of Women’s Cricket Balls
The specifications for men’s cricket balls allow only a limited tolerance in size and weight.
For women’s and junior cricket, manufacturers have often produced a single ball for both categories.
New limits have now been introduced, establishing three distinct size and weight specifications for men’s, women’s and junior cricket.
Overthrows
Ambiguity over what constitutes an overthrow has been removed.
An overthrow is an attempt to direct the ball towards the stumps to prevent runs or effect a run-out. A misfield, whether an attempt to stop the ball or pass it to another fielder, does not constitute an overthrow.
Ball Settled
The umpire will now have greater leeway in determining whether a ball is finally settled, which can often be extremely important, particularly on the final ball of a close game. The ball no longer must necessarily be in the bowler’s or wicketkeeper’s hands to be finally settled.
Complete Control over the ball
For a ball to be considered held by a fielder for a run-out or stumping, the fielder must have complete control of the ball. Merely touching the ball with the hand while it breaks the stumps does not establish holding it.