MCC suggests changes with wide-ranging impact on the game

The MCC World Cricket Committee had its bi-annual meeting at Mumbai on December 6 and 7 and has suggested a number of changes to the game’s existing structure. The MCC World Cricket Committee was constituted in 2006 with an aim to discuss current issues that plague the game and comprises of current and past cricketers and umpires as well.

Former English captain Mike Brearley chairs the committee while the likes of Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara and, you guessed it, Sourav Ganguly are current members of the body that supports the ICC.

Ricky Ponting suggested that the behaviour in lower levels of cricket especially is appalling. "The reason we are talking about making significant changes to lower level cricket is because it has got completely out of hand down there.” Ponting said.

The changes in the latest meeting promise to have a wide-ranging impact on how the game is played all over the world.

Among the suggestions were –

• Introduction of football-style red cards – Red cards would be issued to players who indulge in violent conduct on the field of play. The offenses include threatening an umpire, physical assault against an umpire/player/spectator, or any other act of violence. It would have been fascinating to see whether the behavior of Virat Kohli and Ben Stokes in the Mohali Test would have resulted in red cards. Perhaps most intriguingly, a red-carded player would have to leave the field of play immediately and will not be allowed to return at any point, effectively reducing the team to 10 players for the rest of the game. If the law is approved, it will come into action on the 1^st of October, 2017
• Limits on bat edges – 40 and 67 mm are to be the new dimensions for the bat edges size and thickness
• Ball tampering laws unchanged – Despite the matter of ball tampering coming into the limelight following Faf du Plessis’ case, the laws are to remain unchanged at the moment
• World Test Championship – Drawing up a blueprint for the World Test Championship, a matter which has been on the backburner for a while now Cricket in Olympics –Presenting a case for cricket’ s inclusion in the Olympics
• Change in rule on ball ricochets – Balls that ricochet off fielders’ helmets will be in action and can be used for catches and stumpings. If implemented, these rules will change the game as we know it.

The aims of MCC’s World Cricket committee are –

• To debate all matters in the interests of cricket and cricketers;
• to consider at all times the balance of the contest between bat and ball and to assist MCC's custodianship of the Laws of the Game;
• to protect the Spirit of Cricket;
• and to be sure that governing body decisions never put cash or country interests before the good of the game.