The
ICC Cricket Committee on Monday recommended several changes to regulations to mitigate
the risks posed by the Covid-19 virus and to protect the safety of players and
match officials.
The
Committee, chaired by former India spin bowler Anil Kumble, concluded a conference call convened to
specifically address issues related to Covid-19, including maintaining the
condition of the match ball and the appointment of non-neutral umpires and
referees to international cricket.
The recommendations of the Cricket Committee
will now be presented to the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee in early June for
approval.
Match ball
The
ICC Cricket Committee heard from the chairperson of the ICC Medical Advisory
Committee, Dr Peter Harcourt, regarding the elevated risk of the transmission of
the virus through saliva, and unanimously agreed to recommend that the use of
saliva to polish the ball be prohibited.
The
Committee also noted the medical advice that it is highly unlikely that the
virus can be transmitted through sweat and saw no need to prohibit the use of
sweat to polish the ball whilst recommending that enhanced hygiene measures are
implemented on and around the playing field.
Non-neutral umpires and referees for international matches
The
current regulations that apply to the appointment of match officials to men’s
Test, ODI and T20I matches are summarised below.
Since 2002, officials
appointed by the ICC must not be from the same country as the participating
teams.
TEST
Field umpire 1 – ICC
Field umpire 2 – ICC
Third umpire – ICC
Fourth umpire – Host
Match referee – ICC
ODI
Field umpire 1 – ICC
Field umpire 2 – Host
Third umpire – ICC
Fourth umpire – Host
Match referee – ICC
T20
Field umpire 1 – Host
Field umpire 2 – Host
Third umpire – Host
Fourth umpire – Host
Match referee – Host
Given
the challenges of international travel with borders being closed, limited
commercial flights and mandatory quarantine periods, the Committee recommended
that local match officials be appointed in the short-term.
The
appointments will continue to be made via the ICC from local Elite and
International Panel referees and umpires. Where there are no Elite Panel match
officials in the country, the best local International Panel match officials
will be appointed.
The
Committee also recommended that the use of technology is increased to support
the appointments of a wider pool of umpires from around the world and has
proposed an additional DRS review per team per innings is introduced in each
format as an interim measure.
Kumble said: “We are
living through extraordinary times and the recommendations the Committee have
made are interim measures to enable us to safely resume cricket in a way
that preserves the essence of our game whilst protecting everyone involved.”
