Laws
of Cricket (2000 Code)
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Changes affecting Players and Captains
(issued by the MCC and ECB Cricket Department
March 2001,
amended by HNCL Executive Committee
meeting 5 April 2001)
Introduction
The 2000 Code makes changes
to almost all the 42 Laws, although many are technical and
relate to the duties of umpires and scorers. The powers and
responsibilities of umpires have been considerably increased.
This document provides a brief summary of the main changes
that will affect club cricketers within HNCL matches. It
is not a complete list of all the changes and the precise
wording used in the Laws will always apply during a match.
All Laws apply to players and officials of either gender.
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Notes
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Captains
The ‘Spirit of Cricket’, which
forms the Preamble to the Laws, defines the responsibilities
of captains, who "are responsible at all times for ensuring
that play is conducted within the Spirit of the Game as well
as within the Laws."
Captains will be
reported to the relevant authority if they or any of their
players breach the Spirit of the Game. Five penalty runs are
to be awarded (in some cases after one or two warnings) in
specific circumstances including:
-
Changing the condition of the ball [delete]
- Distraction
and/or obstruction of the striker [delete]
- Time wasting by either side
[delete]
- Damage to
the pitch – fielders or batsmen [delete]
- Illegal fielding
- Stealing a run and deliberate
short run [delete]
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Comments in this column are those changes
agreed by the Hansells Norfolk Cricket League
HSNCL will not recognise penalties that require interpretation
by umpires, where these are not independent. Penalty for illegal
fielding can be judged as a fact
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Duties of captains now include:
- Nominate their team to an umpire before
the toss (especially their Under 18s) [amended]
- Toss not earlier than 30 minutes
or later than 15 minutes before the start
- Agree any necessary changes to intervals
with the other captain and the umpires
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Captains should nominate their team, and include
anyone under 18 |
Captains are no longer involved in: [all
deleted]
- Decision to allow
a substitute
- Decision to play in conditions the umpires consider unreasonable
or dangerous
- Agreeing and accepting the scores – now agreed by umpires
and scorers only. |
Captains STILL involved in these decisions |
All Players
- Changes to Methods of Dismissal
- Batsman can be out Bowled even
if he has completed his stroke provided no other player or
umpire has touched the ball
- Incoming batsman
not in position to take guard, or his partner to receive the
next ball, within 3 minutes of the fall of the previous
wicket will be Timed out on appeal
- Batsman can be
caught off any part of the glove on a hand holding
the bat
- A catch is made
when the catcher has complete control over both the ball and
his own movement – he can leave the field of play and return
to complete the catch provided that he does not have contact
with the ball outside the field of play
- Under the new
definition of the boundary a catch is invalid if there is
any contact with a fence, wall, line or rope marking the boundary
whilst the fielder is in contact with the ball and before
he has control of the ball and his own movement - 6 runs are
scored
- In deciding if
the ball would have hit the wicket when answering an LBW appeal
the umpire must assume that the path of the ball would have
continued after its interception by the striker even if it
might have pitched subsequently
- Either batsman
can be Run out by a fielder from a No ball even if not attempting
a run – the wicket-keeper can effect a Run out from a No ball
only if the batsman is attempting a run or another fielder
has intervened
- The bowler can
only Run out the non-striker before he enters his delivery
stride – once his back foot has landed in the delivery stride
the batsman cannot be run out until after the ball is delivered.
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Was 2 minutes
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All
Players - Fair
and Unfair Play
- Umpires are the sole judges
of fair and unfair play, and can intervene at any time
- Match ball – players
can only dry a wet ball on a towel (no use of sawdust) and
cannot rub the ball on the ground for any reason
- Mud
to be removed from the ball under supervision of the umpire
[delete]
- Ball
to be given to the umpire at the fall of any wicket, the start
of any interval and at any interruption of play [delete]
- Unfair
for any member of the fielding side deliberately to attempt
to distract the striker while he is preparing to receive or
receiving a delivery
- Any ball bouncing
over head height of the striker standing upright at the crease
is unfair and shall be called No ball (not Wide ball)
- Any full pitched
delivery, other than a slow paced one, above waist
height is dangerous and unfair and will be called No ball,
with a warning to the bowler
- Any slow
full pitched delivery above shoulder height is dangerous
and unfair and will be called No ball, with a warning to the
bowler
- If there is any
breach of the Spirit of the Game by a player the umpire will
inform the other umpire and the captain, instructing the captain
to take action and telling him that the occurrence will be
reported.
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All
Players - No
Ball and Wide Ball
- Instant award of penalty –
if the 1 run penalty produces a result to the match any subsequent
event (runs scored or batsman dismissed) does not count
- A properly delivered
ball bouncing more than twice or rolling along the ground
before reaching the popping crease is a No ball provided it
has not touched the bat or the striker
- A ball coming
to rest in front of the line of the striker’s wicket and not
having touched the bat or the striker is a No ball and a Dead
ball – striker no longer has the option to hit it
- Wide ball defined
as one, which the batsman cannot hit with his bat by means
of a normal cricket stroke, both from where he is standing
and from a normal guard position.
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}
}These No Balls are
}to be judged by
}umpire at Bowler's End
} |
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All
Players - General
- Umpires to be informed of absences
and of requests to leave or return to the field
- Player
returning without permission and touching the ball in play
– 5 penalty runs [delete]
- Player
absent from the field for 15 minutes or more (including absent
at the start) cannot bowl until he has been on the field for
at least that length of playing time that he was absent –
time lost for unscheduled interruptions count as playing time
- Player must
leave the field to change boots, shirt etc. and no substitute
is allowed
- No
batting or bowling practice on the pitch or the adjacent strips
at any time [delete]
- Any
practice on the square must cease at least 30 minutes before
start of play [delete]
- Penalty
for illegal practice – offender not allowed to bowl until
5 complete overs have been bowled by his side [delete]
- Trial
run-ups allowed unless umpire considers that time will be
wasted
- Protected area’
now starts 5 feet in front of the popping crease instead
of 4 feet
- Bowler must not
run on the ‘protected area’ after delivering the ball – bowler
will be suspended immediately after a third warning during
an innings
- Sight-screens
now always outside the boundary, wherever placed
- Inside edge (nearer
pitch) of boundary marking (line, rope, base of fence or wall)
becomes the boundary – anything marking the boundary is outside
the boundary
- 6 runs scored
if ball after being hit lands full pitch on a boundary rope,
line, wall or fence marking the boundary
- If batsmen cross
for a 5th run (or more) before the ball crosses
the boundary the runs replace the boundary allowance and the
batsmen remain at the ends they were nearest when the ball
crossed the boundary
- Significant movement
by wicket-keeper or fielders after ball comes into play is
unfair – umpire to call and signal Dead ball
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Fence is now a boundary
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Safety Guidelines
for Young Players
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Definition of a Young Player
In law a young person is deemed to
become an adult at age 18. The law also imposes a duty
of care on those responsible for minors (i.e. those
under the age of 18). The ECB is recommending that this
guidance is followed by all players up to the age of
18. It applies to young players in adult cricket as
well as to all junior cricket played with a hard ball.
Age groups are based on the age of a player at midnight
on 31 Aug in the year preceding the current season.
Wearing of Protective Helmets
(extract from 'ECB New Safety Guidance
on the Wearing of Cricket Helmets by Young Players'
issued on 28 Feb 2000)
 It
is recommended that a helmet is worn by young players
when batting and when standing up to the stumps when
keeping wicket against a hard ball in matches and
in practice. - A young player should not be allowed
to bat or stand up to the stumps when keeping wicket
against a hard ball except with written parental consent.
Coaches, teachers, managers and umpires should always
ensure that a young player wears a helmet if this
written parental consent has not been received.
- Players should regard a helmet with
faceguard as a normal item of protective equipment
when batting against a hard ball, together with pads,
gloves and for boys an abdominal protector (box).
- There is a British standard (BS7928:1998)
for cricket helmets and it is in the best interests
of players to ensure that their helmet conforms to
this standard.
Fast Bowling Directives
(extract from ECB leaflet 'Fast
Bowling Directives' (2000 Edition, released Jan 2000)
 To
ensure that young fast bowlers do not place undue stress
on their bodies, every attempt must be made to keep
the amount of bowling within reasonable limits. The
following Directives provide sensible playing and training
levels. (For the purposes of these guidelines, a
'fast bowler' is a bowler to whom a wicketkeeper - in
the same age group - would stand back to take the ball)
Directives for Matches
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| Age |
Max per spell |
Max per day |
| U13 |
4 overs |
8 overs |
| U14, U15 |
5 overs |
10 overs |
| U16, U17 |
6 overs |
18 overs |
| U19 |
7 overs |
21 overs |
Directives for Practice Sessions
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| Age |
Max per session |
Sessions per week |
| U13 |
30 delivs |
2 s per week |
| U14, U15 |
36 delivs |
2 s per week |
| U16, U17 |
37 delivs |
3 s per week |
| U19 |
42 delivs |
3 s per week |
Having completed a spell the bowler
cannot bowl again, from either end, until the same number
of overs to the length of his* spell have been bowled
from the same end. A bowler can change ends without
ending his current spell provided that he bowls the
next over that he legally can from the other end. If
this does not happen his spell is deemed to be concluded.
If play is interrupted, for less than 40 minutes, any
spell in progress can afterwards be continued up to
the appropriate maximum. If the spell is not continued
after the interruption, the bowler must wait until the
same number of overs as his spell have been bowled from
one end. If the interruption is of 40 minutes or more,
the bowler may commence a new spell immediately.
* any reference to he/his should be
interpreted to include she/her
(top of page)
Fielding Restrictions
 (extract
from 'ECB New Safety Guidance on the Wearing of Cricket
Helmets by Young Players' issued on 28 Feb 2000)
The ECB has extended the existing regulations
covering the minimum fielding distances for young players
in all matches where a hard ball is used ...
- No young player in the U15 group
or younger shall be allowed to field closer than 8
yards (7.3m) from the middle stump, except behind
the wicket on the off side, until the batsman has
played the ball.
- For players in the U13 group and
below, the distance is 11 yards (10m)
- These minimum distances apply even
if the player is wearing a helmet
- In addition, any player in the U16
to U18 groups below the age of 18, must wear a helmet
when fielding within 6 yards (5.5m) of the bat, except
behind the wicket on the off side. Boys must also
wear an abdominal protector.
- Players should wear appropriate protective
equipment whenever they are fielding in a position
where they feel at risk
- These fielding restrictions are applicable
to all cricket in England and Wales.
(top of page)
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