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West Indies women have recalled Jamaican allrounder Chedean Nation after a gap of nearly seven years, for the ODIs and T20s in India next month. West Indies also recalled wicketkeeper-batsman Kycia Knight and medium-pacer Shakera Selman, both of whom were dropped for the home series against England.Nation, 29, last played international cricket in November 2009, against England at home, in both ODIs and T20Is. She has played 12 ODIs and five T20Is, and was named in an 18-member West Indies training squad for a camp in September, before the England series.Knight and Selman, who were part of the World T20 winning squad this year, had been dropped earlier this month and Anisa Mohammed had replaced Selman as the vice-captain. Even though Selman has returned, Mohammed continues to be the vice-captain for the India tour.West Indies will play three T20Is after three ODIs, which will count towards the ICC Women’s Championship, in India. The first ODI will start on November 10 and the last T20I on November 22; all six matches will be played in Vijayawada.West Indies are currently placed third with 22 points in the Women’s Championship table and India are sixth with 13 points.Squad: Stafanie Taylor (capt.), Anisa Mohammed (vice-capt.), Merissa Aguilleira (wk), Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Shaquana Quintyne, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt

India have agreed to use DRS for the upcoming Test series against England on a “trial basis” to “evaluate the improvements made” in the system. India had played in the first series with umpire reviews, against Sri Lanka in 2008, but this will be their first bilateral contest since then with all the components of the DRS – including ball-tracking technology – in place.”We are happy to note that Hawk-Eye has institutionalised all the recommendations made by BCCI, and we confirm that this improved version of DRS will be used on a trial basis during the forthcoming series against England,” the BCCI president Anurag Thakur said. “Based on the performance of the system and the feedback that we will receive, further continuation in forthcoming series will be decided.”One of India’s biggest concerns with the DRS, the predicted path of the ball after it hits the pad in the case of lbw decisions, will be addressed by the use of ultra-motion cameras. The manual intervention in determining the point of impact will be minimised by the introduction of Ultra Edge, which according to a BCCI release had been approved by Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT]. It will also eliminate the possibility of another touch after the first impact affecting the predicted path or point of impact.”Earlier, there was a possibility that the operator would have missed a delivery and hence an lbw appeal could have been missed,” the BCCI release said. “Now, Hawk-Eye has developed the technology to record and save all images so that in case an operator fails to arm the tracking system, the images can be rewound and replayed.”Since their first experience with the system in its nascent stages, India were the biggest opponents of the DRS. The only times India used it since that 2008 series was in ICC events and in one Test series against England in 2011. In that series, the DRS was not used for lbw decisions.The BCCI’s sustained refusal to use the DRS meant that other countries would not use the system only when playing India. The board rarely articulated its opposition to the system in detail; India’s former Test captain MS Dhoni used to say they would use DRS only when it was 100% accurate.The current India coach Anil Kumble, who is also the head of the ICC cricket committee, had made a visit to MIT before he took over the India job to be apprised of the latest developments in the DRS technology. During the recent series against New Zealand, India’s current Test captain Virat Kohli had said India “definitely wanted to think about DRS”, which was the first significant departure from their previous stance.On October 19, the ICC general manager Geoff Allardice made a presentation in Delhi that was attended by Kumble. Two days later, India confirmed their acceptance of the system albeit on a trial basis.

ScorecardIndia A blew away a strong opening partnership by losing four quick wickets and ended the third day of their four-day game still 108 runs behind Australia A with six wickets remaining in their second innings.Australia A, who began the day on 5 for 319 in their first innings, piled on 435 for a first-innings lead of 266 runs, with Hilton Cartwright, who was unbeaten on 99 overnight, completing his century. He eventually fell for 117, caught behind off Shardul Thakur, who completed his tenth first-class five-wicket haul and first outside India. He finished with figures of 5 for 101.India A then lost their first four wickets in a cluster – three to Jon Holland, the left-arm spinner, and one to a run out – to finish the day on 4 for 158, with opener Akhil Herwadkar unbeaten on 82 and Sanju Samson giving him company on 34. Holland had 3 for 59 after 15 overs.He could have had four had he not dropped Faiz Fazal off his own bowling. That was one of four reprieves handed to the India A openers during the course of a chancy 84-run partnership. Herwadkar was dropped twice, first by Nic Maddinson at first slip, and then on 53, when Jackson Bird put down a tough chance at leg slip. The dropped catches apart, Australia A also missed a run-out opportunity.India A’s opening partnership ended with a chaotic run-out – a throw at the striker’s end missed the stumps before Travis Dean, backing up, hit the other end to catch Fazal short of his ground. Fazal had played second fiddle to Herwadkar, contributing 29 off 88 balls with two fours and a six. Thereafter, Holland struck three times. First, Karun Nair was trapped lbw, before Manish Pandey was caught by Beau Webster, and finally, Naman Ojha was caught by Bird with the score having touched 100.Herwadkar and Samson then came together for an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 58. Samson faced 76 balls for his unbeaten 34, while Herwadkar had faced 188 balls and struck six fours and three sixes.When the day began, Cartwright added 37 more to Australia’s overnight total with Sam Whiteman. After he was dismissed, having faced 193 balls and struck 15 fours and a six, Whiteman batted on. Whiteman, who was unbeaten on 9 overnight, raised a half-century. His 100-ball 51, along with contributions from Kane Richardson (19) and No. 10 Jackson Bird (24), ensured that the lead swelled.

Alex Wakely, the Northamptonshire captain, hailed his team’s apparent weaknesses – their small squad and financial worries – as key factors in his side’s success in the NatWest T20 Blast.Wakely led the side to their second T20 trophy in four years at Edgbaston on Saturday, overcoming a Nottinghamshire side containing nine international players in the semi-final and a Durham side boosted by the return of Ben Stokes and Mark Wood in the final.But while Northants’ small squad has, at times this season, seen their coach phoning around the counties for loan players ahead of games in order to be able to name a competitive team, it has also helped create a close-knit team spirit and sense of confidence in a dressing room that knows it need not fear for places. Crucially, in a format where role definition is so important, it has also given Northants’ players clarity and confidence in what is expected of them and what they can expect of their team-mates.The difference was highlighted in the semi-final. While Nottinghamshire arrived at Edgbaston with a choice of three overseas players (only two could play) and having decided to leave out batsman Greg Smith, a regular in the qualifying games, in place of England opener Alex Hales, Northants had just one overseas player and committed to the team that had helped them reach Finals Day. Hales was subsequently bowled for a duck while Stuart Broad, having his first T20 bowl of the campaign, sent down only two overs.While it was Northants’ first victory over Nottinghamshire in any format since 2006, Wakely suggested that not facing such selection dilemmas might have been a factor in the result.”A lot of the reason we’ve been successful over years is that we’ve played pretty much the same team throughout the competition,” Wakely said. “You look at Notts they chopped and changed their side and it doesn’t always work.”Greg Smith for instance for Notts he was one of the best players all year and then he’s not playing. I don’t agree with it, but it is the way it is. We don’t have that problem and that’s a massive reason why we’ve come out here and done what we’ve done.”Our small squad means we don’t look over our shoulders. When someone does well, we are always enjoying it. At bigger counties, there is always someone looking over their shoulder thinking that could be me. We don’t have that.”The continuity in the dressing room helps. We’ve played pretty much the same team all the way through the competition for the last three years. We don’t want to be a feeder club. Going forward, there’s a two or three year plan to keep our best players.”While Northants have not always been in the news for the right reasons of late – their financial troubles have been well chronicled – Wakely insisted the dressing-room culture was the best he had experienced. Indeed, it seems the ‘us against the world’ attitude has helped forge a spirit within the squad that proved so important on finals day when Northants twice found themselves three wickets down within the first 14 balls of their innings.”There’s a lot of off-field stuff written that we have to try and ignore,” Wakely said. “People on our backs, hammering us down, calling us overweight, all that kind of stuff.”But we ignore it. That dressing room is the best I’ve played with. I couldn’t be more proud. I love this club to bits. I’ve been here since I was 13 and things keep getting better and better. Laurie Evans came in [on loan from Warwickshire recently] and said it was the most enjoyable dressing room he played in.”It’s pretty simple: I believe that, if you have a happy changing room, you perform.”They were words backed by the final’s Man of the Match, Josh Cobb. Cobb, who made a sparkling 80 in the final, also won the Man of the Match award for his bowling in the 2011 final (“bowling a few long-hops” as he modestly put it) while representing Leicestershire, but admitted he was enjoying his cricket much more with Northants. As a result he has rejected approaches from other counties – Derbyshire are believed to have been especially keen – and signed a new three-year deal.”I wasn’t massively enjoying my cricket at Leicester,” Cobb said. “I had a few tough seasons. “But I’ve come here and they had an exceptional white-ball side, but more than anything I’ve just really enjoying my cricket. The team spirit is exceptional and I’ve been here two years and I’ve played in three out of a possible four quarter-finals and played in two T20 finals in two years. I’m really enjoying it and, ultimately, that’s why you play the game.”Such was Cobb’s enthusiasm for the cause that he delayed knee surgery for several weeks to help Northants in their Royal London quarter-final and at T20 Finals Day.”This is the last time you’ll see me on the field this season,” he said. “I have been struggling with my knee. But I always believed that we’d be playing in a final and that’s the reason I’ve taken the pain killers and decided to battle through.”

New Zealand fast bowler Doug Bracewell has said he has been working on his batting for the last couple of years to become a batting allrounder. Bracewell, currently in Pretoria for a training camp, is part of the 16-man squad that will play two Tests in Zimbabwe later this month. The same squad will then head to South Africa for two Tests next month.”I’ve always wanted to be [a batting allrounder] ever since I started playing first-class,” Bracewell said in Pretoria. “Over the last couple of years I haven’t really produced the numbers that I would have liked but I’ve put in quite a lot of hard work over the last year or two and starting to slowly see a few improvements. Hopefully I can keep working hard at it and get some runs.”In 25 Tests since his debut in 2011, Bracewell has scored 520 runs at an average of 13.33, with a high score of 47. In ODIs, he averages 9.83 in seven innings and in T20Is, he has 77 runs at an average of 25.66. Bracewell said he was happy with his performances last season before taking a break during the New Zealand winter.”Overall, I was pretty happy with how the season went. Obviously, a lot of work-ons going forward, you always want to get better and improve. I’ve been working on the batting quite a lot and trying to improve on that and churn out some more runs. I don’t reflect too much over the last summer, it’s been done and now we’ve got some cricket to look forward to over here and a big summer coming up.”Bracewell took 18 wickets in four matches for Central Districts in the Plunket Shield, and averaged 33 with the bat in seven innings, with a highest score of 75. His batting fared much better in the Ford Trophy – New Zealand’s domestic one-day competition. He struck two fifties in five innings and averaged nearly 40 with a strike rate of 98.14.”I have had time off in off season and didn’t go anywhere, rested after a long season,” he said. “I’ve had a bit of time off actually. I haven’t gone overseas and played, I’ve just had the body have a bit of a rest after a long season. Looking forward to get back into some cricket.”Fast bowler Matt Henry also joined the New Zealand squad in Pretoria this week. Henry was in England for over three months, representing Worcestershire. He played 11 matches in the NatWest T20 Blast, collecting seven wickets. He had more success in the County Championship – he took 27 wickets in six matches at an average of 26.51.”Matt’s bowled well and hasn’t always had the reward so to see him get his reward at Northampton (8 for 88) was really satisfying,” Worcestershire coach Steve Rhodes said. “He really clicked with his rhythm and swung the ball nicely. Maybe with him going away with the New Zealand team and readying himself for a Test series, it has put him in a good spot mentally as to how he feels about his bowling and form-wise.”We shouldn’t forget Matt’s batting this year. This guy is averaging 45 in first-class cricket and played some important knocks as well in the white ball format. He is very good all-round cricketer but is also a tremendous bloke and he has fitted in so well in our dressing room. We really do wish him well in his time with New Zealand.”Would I like to see him back one day? Yes, he is definitely the type of cricketer who appeals to us because he is whole-hearted, tries hard, is a talented bowler and we all know he can strike a rocket ball as well. He is definitely the type of cricketer, who, at some stage in the future, we would definitely love to have back.”

India offspinner R Ashwin, who batted at No. 6 for the first time in his Test career, has said that he was surprised by the promotion in Antigua, where he made his third Test century and his first away from home.”Batting at No. 6 was a complete surprise for me,” Ashwin told . “Virat [Kohli] told me in the morning of the game that I would be batting at six, and I really liked what he said. He said: ‘We trust you, and we want you to bat at six and see how it goes’. I wanted to give something back to the team, and show that I was good batting at No.6.”Having arrived late on the first day at 236 for 4, Ashwin saw out a tricky phase with Kohli and took India to 302 for 4 at stumps.Ashwin then unfurled his array of strokes on the second day, the highlight being a straight back-foot punch off West Indies captain Jason Holder. But when Shannon Gabriel, West Indies’ best bowler in the game, posed questions outside off stump with away movement or the lack of it, Ashwin was prepared to grind him down. He pressed on to bring up a century off 237 balls with a whipped four, before holing out for 113 off 253 balls.”I wanted to lend some solidity,” Ashwin said. “It was quite a tiring innings because I played about 250 balls, and after that to come out and exhibit how I could bowl after a tired innings. I was very pleased with that.”Given Kohli’s penchant for playing with five bowlers, there was pressure on Ashwin and the lower order to contribute more with the bat. Ashwin had said after his century that batting in the top seven was a long-term goal and that he considered himself an allrounder.”I always value myself as an allrounder,” he said. “Not like I don’t look at myself that way. Batting at six, there is always that many opportunities to score a hundred than when you are batting at eight. So, I have started off well on that note. Batting at No.6, I have managed a five-for as well. I just hope I can go from strength to strength from here.”Ashwin was pleased with his first five-wicket haul outside Asia, having made his debut against West Indies in 2011. He finished with figures of 7 for 83 to seal India’s innings-and-92-run win inside four days.”It has taken more than five years for me to repeat it [take a five-for] outside the subcontinent,” he said. “That is something I wanted to break: getting a five-wicket haul away from Asia. That is something I worked earnestly towards and very pleased for myself.”Ashwin’s returns came after he had gone wicketless in the first innings while conceding 43 runs in 17 overs. He said that his role in the first innings was to largely support the fast bowlers, who found swing and then reverse swing to rattle the hosts.”In the first innings, I couldn’t get a good spell going because the fast bowlers were bowling really well,” he said. “We actually had to short change with them for roles and try to give them a break.”Ashwin revelled in a more attacking role in the second innings, profiting from subtle changes in pace and drift. His dismissal of Marlon Samuels, drifting one away past the outside edge to hit the top of off stump, was reward for using the breeze after setting the batsman up with a couple of offbreaks.”The speeds were something that was going to challenge us on this wicket, because the ball got softer,” Ashwin said. “As the ball got softer and softer, it was very hard to get the ball going. It was very slow and sluggish, and so we needed to keep a tab on the pace, and use the drift pretty well.”Ashwin also lauded coach Anil Kumble for his inputs during the course of the match. “In the second innings, I was constantly in touch with Anil bhai also about what is that right speeds to be bowling,” Ashwin said. “We were constantly in touch through different occasions of the game. I went wicketless for the first 25-26 overs I bowled in the match, and in the past it would have definitely troubled me. I am someone who likes to keep getting wickets. I kept on speaking to him about what I was doing right and what I was not doing right. He felt my body was not going through well yesterday because I was a little tired. Also, he told I had to slow down at the crease, gave me different ideas about what lines to bowl to batsmen.”

N Srinivasan’s run in charge of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has been extended, after he was re-elected unopposed as the president of the state association. The election was held during the TNCA’s 86th annual general meeting, in Chennai, on Sunday.Srinivasan, the former BCCI president who was forced to step aside following the IPL corruption scandal, has headed the TNCA since 2002-03, when he toppled his cricket-administration-mentor-turned-bitter-rival AC Muthiah in the race for the presidency.Kasi Viswanathan was re-elected secretary for the tenth year in succession.The reported that there were no contests for any of the TNCA posts, with the candidates from the ruling group taking charge of all of them unchallenged.TNCA office bearers
President: N Srinivasan
Vice-presidents (city): Kalpathi S Aghoram, K Murali, PS Raman, G Srinivasan
Vice-presidents (districts): G Bhaskaran, V Ramesh
Secretary: Kasi Viswanathan
Joint-secretary: RI Palani
Assistant secretary: S Martin Raj
Treasurer: VP Narasimhan

Offspinner Sunil Narine and allrounder Kieron Pollard, who have not played international cricket since November 2015, have been picked in the West Indies ODI squad for the first four matches of the upcoming tri-series against Australia and South Africa, which starts from June 3.Allrounder Carlos Brathwaite and batsman Marlon Samuels, who played key roles in West Indies’ World T20 triumph in India earlier this year, were also selected. The squad, however, did not include allrounders Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, and Dwayne Bravo, and batsman Chris Gayle, all of whom were not contracted by WICB earlier this year.

Hetmyer, Joseph in WICB President’s XI squad

West Indies Under-19s players Shimron Hetmyer and Alzarri Joseph have been named in the 13-member WICB President’s XI squad that will play a 50-over day-night match against the South Africans on May 29 at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.
Hetmyer captained West Indies U-19s to their first World Cup triumph earlier this year, while Joseph was one of the leading bowlers in the tournament, taking 13 wickets in six matches at an average of 13.76 and an economy rate of 3.31.
Kraigg Brathwaite will captain the squad, which also includes batsmen Evin Lewis and Jermaine Blackwood.
WICB President’s XI squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Jermaine Blackwood, Damion Jacobs, Shane Dowrich, Jason Mohammed, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Jon Russ Jaggesar, Andre McCarthy, Nikita Miller, Rayad Emrit, Delorn Johnson

Narine had been reported for a suspect action during West Indies’ tour of Sri Lanka in November last year and was subsequently suspended from bowling in international cricket after his action was found to be illegal. The offspinner was picked in the World T20 squad but pulled out citing “insufficient progress in the rehabilitative work” on his action. The ICC cleared Narine to bowl in April, days before the start of IPL 2016. He has taken seven wickets in eight matches for Kolkata Knight Riders so far in this season at an economy rate of 6.94.Pollard, on the other hand, missed international cricket due to a knee injury he suffered while playing the Ram Slam T20 Challenge in South Africa last November. The injury forced his withdrawal from the World T20, after he was initially named in the squad. Pollard made his return to competitive cricket in IPL 2016, and has scored 198 runs in 12 matches for Mumbai Indians so far with one fifty. He has also bowled six overs in the tournament.The squad for the tri-series also included offspinner Ashley Nurse and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who are uncapped in the ODI format. Nurse has played four T20Is and was a member of the World T20 squad this year, while Gabriel has played 16 Tests and two T20Is since his debut in May 2012.The tri-series will be West Indies’ first ODI assignment since their tour of Sri Lanka last year. West Indies play their first match against South Africa on June 3, followed by a game against Australia on June 5. Both matches will be held in Guyana. Their second round of matches is scheduled for June 13 and 15 in St Kitts.West Indies squad: Jason Holder (capt), Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Shannon Gabriel, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor

India and Pakistan are pitted against each other in Group A at the 2025 men’s Asia Cup, set to be held in the UAE from September 9 to September 28. Their group-stage meeting will be on September 14 in Dubai*, with two more potential games between them should both reach the final. Dubai, where the final will also be played, will host 11 games while Abu Dhabi will host eight fixtures.Last week, the dates for the 17th edition of the tournament were announced by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Keeping in mind the T20 World Cup, the tournament will be played in the T20I format and, for the very first time, will feature eight teams, a bump of two from the previous edition.

Key group-stage matches

Ban v SL, Sept 13, Abu Dhabi
Ind v Pak, Sept 14, Dubai
Ban v Afg, Sept 16, Abu Dhabi
SL vs Afg, Sept 18, Abu Dhabi

Apart from India and Pakistan, Group A includes Oman and hosts UAE. Group B has Afghanistan and Hong Kong, who kickstart the tournament in Abu Dhabi on September 9, alongside Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.The top two teams from each group will move on to another four-team group for the second stage, with the top two teams of that group proceeding to the final on September 28.The venue and dates for the tournament were finalised at the ACC’s annual general meeting in Dhaka last Thursday, where the Asia Cup was one of the key points on the members’ agenda. The fate of the tournament had briefly been thrown into uncertainty following the India-Pakistan military skirmish in May. After the AGM in Dhaka, Naqvi had addressed a press conference about the imminent notification of the Asia Cup dates, though he had stopped short of confirming specific details at the time.The India-Pakistan fixture is, by far, the most financially lucrative fixture in the Asia Cup. The format of the tournament and the placement in the same group make at least two India-Pakistan matches likely, the second on September 21 – also in Dubai – if it happens. It also leaves open the possibility of a third meeting in the final in Dubai on September 28. There has, however, never been an India-Pakistan final in the Asia Cup.India are the official hosts of the tournament, but, after an agreement between the BCCI and the PCB earlier this year, tournaments held in India or Pakistan will see a neutral venue provided for the other side for a three-year period. The agreement came about ahead of the Champions Trophy held in Pakistan earlier this year. India played all their games, including the one against hosts Pakistan, in Dubai. The final, which India qualified for and won, was also held in Dubai.India are the defending champions, having beaten Sri Lanka in the final of the previous edition in 2023. Sri Lanka won the previous T20I edition, beating Pakistan in the final in 2022.*1700 GMT, Aug 2: The news story was updated after the ACC released the detailed schedule

The ICC recently approved several changes to its playing conditions for men’s international cricket including the updated Boundary Law and operating with just one ball in ODIs from the 35th over. While some of these new rules have already come into play in the new cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) (2025-27), those pertaining to white-ball cricket will be effective from July 2.Having accessed the playing conditions the ICC shared with the member countries recently, ESPNcricinfo looks at the noteworthy changes across the three formats.

Stop clock in Test cricket

A year after introducing a stop clock in white-ball formats, the ICC has decided to introduce it in Test cricket as well because slow over rates have been a long-standing problem in the format. According to the rule, the fielding side must be ready to start an over within a minute of the previous one ending. They will receive two warnings from the umpires if they fail to do so. After those warnings, the umpires will impose a five-run penalty on the bowling team. Warnings will be reset to zero after each block of 80 overs. Also, the clock will be counted upwards from 0 to 60. The rule has already been in play since the beginning of the 2025-27 WTC cycle.Related

• Nearest ball, not nearest over – ICC tweaks powerplay rules for shortened men's T20Is

• ICC changes two-ball rule in men's ODIs and concussion sub protocols in all internationals

• MCC changes law to make boundary catches with 'bunny hops' illegal

• ICC makes between-overs stop clock a permanent feature in ODIs, T20Is

No mandatory ball change for deliberate use of saliva

While the ban on the use of saliva on the ball continues, the ICC has said it is no longer mandatory for the umpires to change the ball after a player is found using saliva. This change comes to avoid a scenario where teams trying to force a ball change deliberately apply saliva on it. So going forward, the umpires will only change the ball if its condition has been drastically changed, like if it appears too wet or there is more shine. This has been left entirely to the discretion of the umpires. Also, if the ball starts doing things after the umpires have said the application of saliva has not changed its condition, it cannot be replaced. The batting team, though, will be awarded five runs.

DRS protocol for secondary review after an out decision

Imagine this – a batter has been given out caught behind and he asks for a review. UltraEdge shows the ball has actually brushed the pads without any contact with the bat. With the catch ruled out, the TV umpire now checks for the second mode of dismissal, and, asks to verify via ball-tracking whether the batter is lbw. So far, the protocol during such a review was, once it was determined the batter was not out caught, the default decision for the second mode of dismissal – lbw – would be not out. That means if ball-tracking led to an “umpire’s call” verdict, the batter would remain not out. But in the updated rule, when the ball-tracking graphic for lbw is displayed, the “original decision” label on it will read “out”. And if the review yields an umpire’s call verdict, then the batter would be ruled out.

Combined reviews – decision will be chronological

The ICC has also decided to modify the process of adjudication during a combined review involving both umpire and player referrals by conducting them in a chronological order, or their order of occurrence. Till now, during a combined review the process involved the TV umpire taking up the umpire review before moving on to the player’s review. “If the conclusion from the first incident is that a batter is dismissed, then the ball would be deemed to have become dead at that point, rendering investigation of the second incident unnecessary,” rule 3.9 in the revised ICC playing conditions says. So if there is an appeal for an lbw as well as a run out, the TV umpire would now first take up the leg-before review as that occurred first. In case the batter is out, then the ball would be declared dead.There will continue to be a five-run penalty if saliva is applied on the ball•Getty Images

Fairness of catch to be reviewed for no-ball

Say there is a case where both on-field officials are not certain if a catch has been taken cleanly, but even as they are deliberating, the TV umpire informs them it was a no-ball. In the previous version of the playing conditions, once the no-ball was signaled, the TV umpire would not need to adjudicate on the fairness of the catch. But in the updated playing conditions, the third umpire will now review the catch and if it is a fair catch then the batting team will only get an extra run for the no-ball. However, if the catch is not clean, the batting team would get the runs the batters have taken.

Deliberate short run

So far, in case one of the batters had been caught taking a deliberate short run, the batting team would suffer a five-run penalty. But in the updated rules if one of the batters is found to have not made their ground deliberately in order to steal an extra run, then the umpires will ask the fielding team to decide which batter they want on strike. Also, the five-run penalty will continue to be part of the sanction.”A deliberate short run is an attempt for batters to appear to run more than one run, while at least one batter deliberately does not make good their ground at one end,” Rule 18.5.1 of the playing conditions says. “Batters may choose to abort a run, provided the umpire believes that there was no intention by the batter concerned to deceive the umpires or to score the run in which they didn’t make their ground.”

Full-time playing replacement in domestic first-class cricket

To offset the loss of a player who has suffered serious external injury, the ICC has asked boards to trial in their domestic first-class cricket fielding a full-time replacement player who can come in and perform the role of a team participant. The replacement player will have to be like for like, as is the case for a concussion sub. The injury will need to be evident and visible to the match officials before they allow a full-time replacement. This would not apply for players suffering hamstring pulls or niggles.This rule will be on a trial basis and is entirely up to the member countries to implement in their domestic first-class circuit.