Index
LAW 24 CHANGES
The previous Law 2 contained a great deal of information and it has been decided to split it into two different Laws – one relating to batting and one to fielding. Law 24 relates to the fielding side
A substitute fielder may now act as a wicket-keeper with the consent of the umpires. It was felt that, if the original wicket-keeper was genuinely injured, then a substitute should be allowed to take over, but that the umpires should control the situation to prevent abuse. A substitute still cannot bowl, bat or act as captain
If a player is absent while his side is fielding, unless in exceptional circumstances or if the absence was caused by an external blow during the match, that player will incur Penalty time equivalent to the total time spent off the field, which is the time he will have to spend on the field before being able to bowl or, if the innings ended meanwhile, bat
The rolling over into the batting innings is a new concept for the Laws, as is the differentiation of an external blow, which is easier for the umpires to monitor. The player must ‘serve’ the same time that he was absent, to a maximum of 90 minutes
Unlike the previous Law, however, there is no grace time at all (a player under the 2000 Code could be off the field for up to 15 minutes without penalty), meaning a player who leaves the field for one over cannot come back onto the field and immediately bowl
The concept of cumulative penalty time has been more clearly defined and, as a new policy, unexpired penalty time is carried forward into the next day’s play, to prevent abuse the previous evening going unpunished
The Law also covers the situation where a substitute is temporarily removed from the field for a Level 3 offence (see Law 42), particularly in relation to the Penalty time that will accrue for the player he was replacing
The previous Law 2 contained a great deal of information and it has been decided to split it into two different Laws – one relating to batting and one to fielding. Law 24 relates to the fielding side
A substitute fielder may now act as a wicket-keeper with the consent of the umpires. It was felt that, if the original wicket-keeper was genuinely injured, then a substitute should be allowed to take over, but that the umpires should control the situation to prevent abuse. A substitute still cannot bowl, bat or act as captain
If a player is absent while his side is fielding, unless in exceptional circumstances or if the absence was caused by an external blow during the match, that player will incur Penalty time equivalent to the total time spent off the field, which is the time he will have to spend on the field before being able to bowl or, if the innings ended meanwhile, bat
The rolling over into the batting innings is a new concept for the Laws, as is the differentiation of an external blow, which is easier for the umpires to monitor. The player must ‘serve’ the same time that he was absent, to a maximum of 90 minutes
Unlike the previous Law, however, there is no grace time at all (a player under the 2000 Code could be off the field for up to 15 minutes without penalty), meaning a player who leaves the field for one over cannot come back onto the field and immediately bowl
The concept of cumulative penalty time has been more clearly defined and, as a new policy, unexpired penalty time is carried forward into the next day’s play, to prevent abuse the previous evening going unpunished
The Law also covers the situation where a substitute is temporarily removed from the field for a Level 3 offence (see Law 42), particularly in relation to the Penalty time that will accrue for the player he was replacing