Not very long ago, Test cricket was on the decline. Crowds hardly attended, except on weekends or holidays. However, one-day cricket was a box-office bonanza. Tickets were sold out well in advance and there was hardly any room in the stadium, even in the VIP stands.
 

The recent past has witnessed a resurgence of Test cricket, thanks to the fact that teams nowadays play for a result. Curiously, this has coincided with a gradual decline in one-day cricket. The limited-overs game has by and large become predictable. The proliferation of this version has led to a loss of interest, so much so that cricket-lovers prefer to watch only 'key' matches featuring top sides.

It was to end this monotony that the ICC looked into the ways and means of injecting some life into one-day cricket by formulating new rules.

An Elite Committee comprising illustrious former cricketers recommended certain changes in the rules, which were discussed at large, and a decision taken to implement them for a period of eleven months from 30th July 2005. However, England and Australia, who were to play a three-match one-day series in July 2005, decided to incorporate these innovations well before the stipulated period commenced.

The three primary changes are:

I. 'Super-substitution'.

II. Umpires being allowed to use technology to give decisions whenever they pleased.

III. Fielding restrictions extended by five overs.

I. Super-Substitution:

A team is supposed to name an XI plus a 'Super-substitute' before the toss. Let's assume that a team names a specialist bowler as its 'Supersub'. If this team bats first, it can replace one of the specialist batsmen in the XI with this Supersub when its turn comes to bowl. The Supersub will be able to bowl and function as a member of the main XI. The player who has been replaced will play no further part in the match, except as an ordinary substitute (with no perks) for injured players.

Given a situation where a member of the main XI injures himself while fielding and has to go off for a little while, the 'Supersub' can field for him, but he will not be entitled to bowl, unless of course, the fielding captain informs the umpires that the player who is off the field has been substituted.

To indicate a 'Super-substitution', the umpire will make a 'T' with his hands and signal to the scorer. England's Vikram Solanki had the distinction of being the first 'Supersub' in cricketing history.

II. Technology and the field umpires:

One of the highlights of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 was the application of TV replays to determine lbw decisions. The field umpires had been permitted to do so. Dave Orchard of South Africa was involved in a peculiar incident during one of the games, when he declared a batsman out without consulting the third umpire. The replays indicated that the umpire had erred. Just as people had begun to question Orchard's abilities, he decided to refer it to the TV umpire. And the latter promptly negatived the appeal!

Many pundits and ex-players pooh-poohed this modification. Their contention was that the field umpires were gradually becoming puppets. But things have changed!

However, if the third umpire is still not certain after watching the slow-motion replays, the field umpire/s' decision will be final. The TV pictures could get distorted, or the angle of the camera could pose a problem. However, leg-before decisions can be given easily with the help of the "Hawk Eye". This technology can determine the height of the ball, and whether the ball has pitched in line or outside the off or leg-stump.

III. Fielding restrictions:

To counter the 'death' of the game from the 16th to the 40th over, the ICC's Elite Committee has come up with an alteration. Field-restrictions will apply to the first ten overs, with not more than two fielders outside the thirty-yard circle and atleast two men in catching positions within the inner circle. The restrictions will apply to ten more overs, with the fielding captain allowed to decide when he wants to enforce them in two blocks of five overs each. It will not be mandatory to have two fielders in catching positions in these two blocks.

It was seen in the three recent games between England and Australia that both captains preferred to enforce the fielding restrictions in the first twenty overs at a stretch. The umpire indicated the five-over blocks, or 'Powerplays' as they were called, by rotating an arm.

What induced the captains to finish off the 'Powerplays' at a stretch was the fact that the conditions were bowler-friendly, and it suited them to have an attacking field. On batting wickets like those in the sub-continent, a fielding captain may well opt to keep one, if not both Powerplays, in store for the latter overs, if the batting side has got off to a runaway start in the first ten and the field needs to be pushed back.

These rules will be reviewed by the ICC after eleven months and a decision taken on whether to continue with them or not. How different teams handle these innovations in different conditions should be interesting to watch. And that is exactly what the ICC wants!

- By Piloo Reporter