The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that they will introduce a stop clock on a trial basis to regulate the time taken by the fielding team to bowl their overs in the Men's ODI and T20I games. The guideline will come into affect from December 2023 and will stay until January 2024. A five-run penalty will be imposed on the fielding team should they fail to start the over within 60 seconds.
In recent times, the apex body of cricket has been proactive in restoring and refining the rules of cricket in order to enhance the game's fairness, safety, and entertainment factor. Various committees met before implementing this regulation at the international level.
The ICC issued a statement regarding the guideline as below:
"The CEC agreed to introduce a stop clock on a trial basis in men’s ODI and T20I cricket from December 2023 to April 2024. The clock will be used to regulate the amount of time taken between overs. If the bowling team is not ready to bowl the next over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed, a 5-run penalty will be imposed the third time it happens in an innings."
Stop clock rule to start from the 4th T20I between India and Australia
With the five-game T20I series between India and Australia, starting on November 23rd (Sunday), the stop clock rule will not be imposed on the first three T20Is. The 4th T20I in Raipur should be the first match to have the rule.
The two teams battled in the high-pressure 2023 World Cup final on November 19th in Ahmedabad, with Australia emerging victorious. It's worth noting that none of the members who were part of the World Cup squad will play in the first three matches.
