ICC makes stop clock-rule permanent in white-ball cricket; approves reserve day for T20 World Cup semis, final

NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday confirmed the adoption the stop clock rule following a successful trial period.
The rule, initially introduced on an experimental basis in December 2023, has now gained approval for implementation in all white-ball cricket formats, including T20Is and ODIs.
The stop clock rule is to ensure the timely progression of matches by mandating that the fielding team initiates the next over within 60 seconds of the conclusion of the previous one.
The rule will come into effect starting with the upcoming T20 World Cup in June.
"The stop-clock is set to become permanent in all ODIs and T20Is from June 2024, starting with the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA,” the ICC said in a statement after its Annual Board Meeting.
"The trial was supposed to run until April 2024, but the experiment has already yielded results in terms of timely completion of matches, saving approximately 20 minutes per ODI match," the statement added.
An electronic clock will be displayed between overs, with umpires responsible for enforcing the rule. Fielding teams will receive two warnings before facing a five-run penalty for subsequent violations.
During the trial period, the ICC and its cricket committee evaluated the effectiveness of the rule and found merit in its permanent adoption. The decision to make the rule universal for all ICC white-ball games underscores the commitment to maintaining the pace and excitement of limited-overs cricket.
The approval of the stop clock rule came during the ongoing series of meetings of the ICC in Dubai, setting the stage for its implementation in future tournaments. However, discussions regarding the Champions Trophy were notably absent from the agenda.
With Pakistan designated as the host nation, speculation surrounds India's potential refusal to tour the country, reminiscent of last year's Asia Cup format alteration.
Reserve day for T20 WC semis, final
The ICC meeting has also approved reserve days for the semifinals (June 27) and the final (June 29) of the T20 World Cup.
During the league or Super Eight stages, a minimum of five overs will have to be bowled to the team batting second to constitute a full game.
However, in the knockout matches, a minimum of 10 overs needed to be bowled in the second innings to constitute a match.
The global governing body also approved the qualification process for the T20 World Cup 2026, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
The tournament will feature 20 teams and will have 12 automatic qualifiers.
The top eight teams in the 2024 World Cup will join India and Sri Lanka as automatic qualifiers, with the remaining spots taken up by the next best-ranked sides in the ICC T20I rankings as of June 30, 2024.
The remaining eight positions will be filled through the ICC Regional Qualifiers.
(With inputs from PTI)