The ECB has announced the counties producing sub-standard pitches will face penalties under the new regulations which state two, ‘below average’ rating in a span of 12 months would be liable to penalties. The rule will be applicable in the upcoming 2017 County Championships.
The Cricket Liaison Officers (CLO) will be in charge of making the final call on the nature of the wicket. In an attempt to make the system more smooth, the ECB has already increased the number of CLOs to 10, ensuring that at least one CLO can be present every day of Championship cricket.
The job of the Clos will be to consult with the umpires, players and ground staff before coming to conclusion about the wicket. The Counties will be free from any action if the matches are hit by poor weather.
In the past, only the pitches which were ruled unfit or poor attracted penalties. This step comes a season after the English boards announced that the ‘toss’ would not be used in order to even up the home advantage factor and make the Counties prepare sporting wickets and better engagement between bat and ball.
The Board had declared that visiting captains would have the option to choose to bowl first in the Championship. To make the rules stricter, it was also declared that away sides would be awarded 16 or 20 points if the home side prepared an “unfit” pitch.
The other changes to be brought in effect in the 2017 season include the ban of heavy rollers in the domestic limited overs contests – The Royal London Cup and NatWest Blast – and allowing 30 minutes of extra play for the first three days of a match in case of time lost.
The implementation of the changes outlined by MCC which state – “batsman can now be caught off a fielder’s helmet” and “a batsman will not be run out if the bat bounces up after being grounded after the completion of a run”.
Also, the bowlers will have to be more careful with their caps as it may cost them a no-ball if it accidentally falls off and breaks the wicket during delivery.
While all these set of rules are set to be utilised, the implementation of the regulations related to new bat sizes will not come to effect this domestic season in England.