ICC new playing conditions

The new playing conditions for Tests, One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) will come into effect with the series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand which starts in Pallekele on Tuesday 30 October.

The amendments have been approved by the ICC Board following proposals made by the ICC Cricket Committee at its meeting in London in May.

It is important to note that the playing conditions are applicable to international cricket and must be read together with the Laws of Cricket. Whilst a playing condition may affect the Laws of Cricket as they may apply to international cricket, these changes are not amendments to the Laws of Cricket themselves.

The amendments to the playing conditions are:

GENERAL CHANGES (applies to more than one format)

Decision Review System (Tests and ODIs)

Clause 3.3 (ii) of Appendix 2, which deals with LBW protocols, has been amended and the margin of uncertainty applicable to the point of impact with the pad has been increased so that it is the same as provided for determining the projected point of impact with the stumps i.e. if the centre of the ball is shown to be impacting in line within an area demarcated by a line drawn down the middle of the outer stumps (and the bottom of the bails), then the decision will always be out.

If the whole of the ball is shown to be impacting outside the line of the stumps, then the decision will always be not out. If there is anything in between, the original on-field decision will stand.

As such, this clause will now read as follows: "If a 'not out' decision is being reviewed, in order to report that the point of impact is between wicket and wicket (i.e. in line with the stumps), the evidence provided by technology should show that the centre of the ball at the moment of interception is in line within an area demarcated by a line drawn below the lower edge of the bails and down the middle of the outer stumps.

"If an 'out' decision is being reviewed, in order to report that the point of impact is not between wicket and wicket (i.e. outside the line of the stumps), the evidence provided by technology should show that no part of the ball at the moment of interception is between wicket and wicket."

No-balls (Tests, ODIs and T20Is)

A clause in the Appendix, which deals with No-balls in the Third Umpire TV Replay System, has been amended.

This now reads as: "Following any mode of dismissal that is not permitted off a no-ball and which is not the subject of an Umpire or Player Review, the third umpire shall, subject to the availability of suitable technology, immediately check the fairness of the delivery (foot-fault only). If the delivery was not a fair delivery, the third umpire shall advise the on-field umpire by two-way radio who should recall the dismissed batsman, indicate that the batsman is not out and signal no-ball.

"If suitable technology is not available to the third umpire, then if the on-field umpire is uncertain as the fairness of the delivery (foot-fault only), he shall be entitled to request the batsman to delay leaving the field and to check the fairness of the delivery (foot-fault only) with the third umpire. Consultation with the third umpire shall be by way of two way radio. If the delivery was not a fair delivery the on-field umpire shall indicate that the batsman is not-out and signal no-ball."

Dead Ball (Tests, ODIs and T20Is)

Clause 23.4, Umpire calling and signaling 'Dead Ball', now reads as: "In a match where Spydercam is being used, either umpire shall call and signal 'dead ball', should a ball that has been hit by the batsman make contact, while still in play, with the Spydercam or its cable. The ball shall not count as one of the over and no runs shall be scored."

Over-rates (Tests, ODIs and T20Is)

In the event of any time allowances being granted to the fielding team under 16.2 (d) (time wasting by batting team), then such time shall be deducted from the allowances granted to the batting team in the determination of its over-rate.

TEST MATCHES (only)

Day/night Tests

Participating countries may agree to play day/night Test matches. The home and visiting boards will decide on the hours of play which will be six hours of scheduled play per day while the two boards will also decide on the precise brand, type and colour of ball to be used for the match.

Intervals

Although the duration of the lunch and tea intervals remain unchanged i.e. 40 and 20 minutes respectively (as per Clause 15.1), the host team, with the consent of the opposing side, can apply to the ICC for an approval to depart from the standard playing conditions to provide for intervals of 30 minutes each.

ONE DAY INTERNATIONALS (Only)

Powerplays and fielding restrictions

Instead of three, there will be two blocks of Powerplays.

In an uninterrupted innings, the first Powerplay will be restricted to the first 10 overs with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. The second five-over batting Powerplay (in an uninterrupted innings) will have to be completed by the 40th over and only three fielders will be allowed outside the fielding restriction area at the time of delivery.

In the non-Powerplay overs, no more than four fielders will be permitted outside the 30-yard circle.

For more details, please refer to ODI Playing Condition 41.2 Restrictions on the placement of fieldsmen.

Short-pitched deliveries

Law 42.6 (a) has been amended as: "A bowler shall be limited to two fast short-pitched deliveries per over."

T20 INTERNATIONALS (Only)

One Over Per Side Eliminator

The following changes have been made to Appendix 7 which deals with One Over Per Side Eliminator (OOPSE):

In both innings of the one over per side eliminator, the fielding side shall choose from which end to bowl.

• Only nominated players in the main match may participate in the OOPSE. Should any player (including the batsmen and bowler) be unable to continue to participate in the OOPSE due to (an) injury, illness or other wholly acceptable reasons, the relevant Laws and Playing Conditions as they apply in the main match shall also apply in the OOPSE.

Any penance time being served in the main match shall be carried forward to the OOPSE.
The fielding captain or his nominee shall select the ball with which he wishes to bowl his over in the OOPSE from the box of spare balls provided by the umpires. Such box to include the balls used in the main match, but no new balls. The team fielding first in the OOPSE shall have first choice of ball. The team fielding second may choose to use the same ball as chosen by the team bowling first. If the ball needs to be changed, then playing conditions as stated for the main match shall apply.

Over-rate time allowances

In addition to the available allowances under Clause 16.2 (Minimum Over-Rates), additional allowance of one minute will be given for the fall of each of the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth wickets.

courtesy: International Cricket Council

Road to WC T20

T20 has reshaped cricket in a dramatic way. It has obviously both benefits and drawbacks. Biggest disadvantage of T20 is traditional cricket is losing his audience and his charm. But on the other hand, it has also helped cricket in growing rigorously. T20 has lot of excitement, charm, fun and everything which now a days audience wants. It has become more popular than Test or ODI's. So just couple of days left in the start of year's biggest event in Sri Lanka. Twelve top sides of the planet will be in action for becoming the champion of World T20.

Lets first talk about minnows of the event. May be its wrong to call any team "Minnow" in T20, but one can say these are less rated teams in the event. Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan are also in the event along with 9 test playing nations. Afghanistan is the nation which is rising tremendously in cricketing world, specially in T20. There inclusion in another event shows their hard work. Similarly Ireland, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh may have very less chance of winning the tournament but for sure they are capable of throwing any of the team out of tournament. well we have to wait and see how many upsets we can see in this world cup.

Talking about the favorites no doubt Asian trio (Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka) have every chance of winning the cup. They are familiar with the conditions,weather  and most importantly recently these teams have played some cricket in Sri Lanka. Pakistan's bowling attack and India's batting attack can be termed as the most powerful attacks of the tournament. But both of the teams lack in other department(Pakistan in batting & India in bowling). any of the team finding good balance will have better chance of winning.

Some cricket pundits are calling West Indies as favorites, and why not? I mean any team with the likes of Gayle, Pollard, Bravo, Narine can be termed as favorite. they are a very goo T20 side. This is a good chance for West Indies to get their position back in world of cricket. Many of the eyes will be on Caribbean players how they perform for their team. 

Ok with the favorites, but Australia, England and South Africa are also very good sides and can reach the top anywhere. England will be defending its title but I will not call them favorites in these conditions. They need something extra to retain their title. Similar is the case with Australia.We have seen them struggling a long way against Pakistan in T20, although they get a very handsome victory in the last match but not favorites for me.

*Tournament is starting on September 18.

Sizzling Jamshed sets the stage for Sharjah

Classy Nasir Jamshed helped Pakistan to level the series against Australia in UAE. Unexpectedly Pakistan chased 249 on just 3 wickets against Australia with quite ease.

Match Story:

Australia's start was not much impressive as they lost wade in second over. David Warner once again was uneasy at the crease. You don't often see it.Warner scored a run after 18 deliveries. Warner and Clarke had a good partnership but then once again Pakistan spinners showed the world why they are best in the business. Mike Hussey(61 off 72) stood this time, with the help of Bailey(39 off 46) to get Australia out of the trouble and quite succeeded. Saeed Ajmal once again was a hero for Pakistan as he took 4 for just 32 in his 10. Australia finished their innings on 248 for 9 in quota of 50 overs.

Pakistan's reply was astonishing as they were right on top from the very first over, Australia never looked comfortable against the class of Nasir Jamshed. With 11 4's and two 6's scored brilliant 97 on just 98 deliveries. Azhar(59 off 86) and Misbah(35 off 34) also helped the Pakistan cause.

Analysis:

Star of the day was 22 years old left arm opener of Pakistan, Nasir Jamshed. In the heat of UAE where temperature is almost about 44 C in the morning, and still quite humid at night, Nasir showed his class for 152 minutes. He played some great shots all over the place. Funny thing about his innings was, it was completed in two months(started on 31st August and ended on 1st September). He is always impressive but need to work on his fitness, one can argue on Abu dhabi heat but fitness was also his problem in the past. If he can work on it he can even become a better prospect for the team.

Such a chase from Pakistan was really unexpected. I dont even remember last time Pakistan chased with so ease without any drama against one of the better team in the ratings. They were on top from the very first over, and never looked struggling. Even Misbah scored more then run a ball this time, Hafeez find some runs with the bat, which was a very positive sign. and Azhar Ali once again proved his selection in ODI.

Aussie batting line up still not reading the spinners well. Ajmal and hafeez seems to know every way how to handle Aussies. but Pakistan seamers still struggling for good line and length, Junaid khan replacing Aizaz Cheema was much impressive, picked up 3 wickets, leaking 52 runs, but Sohail Tanvir was awful, his recent performances are certainly not up to the mark. Anwar Ali should get a chance in next match.

Dew can be all important factor in the third ODI. As we seen Aussie were facing serious trouble to grip the ball. Maxwell was drying ball after every single delivery which can show how much dew was present there. Both captains at toss was also unsure what to do on this pitch. But loosing toss became the winning cause for Misbah in the end. It can become difficult to grip the bow. Important to note here, apart from dew factor Nasir's innings was classy, you have to give him credit to play such a master innings in UAE heat.

Decider to be played on Monday 3rd of September in Sharjah.

Kangaroos in the heat of desert

Aussies frightened from heat, arrived at Emirates. They are here to play four ODI's and three T20. They had played their first match against Afghanistan and beat them by good 66 runs. As expected, that match seems to be a good practice match for Australia.

Overview of Pak vs Aus:

                Pakistan is playing most of its home series in U.A.E after the terror attack on lankan bus in Lahore. Australia will play 3 ODI's and 3 T20's against Pakistan. Series is of much importance for both teams as both the teams will be testing team combination and form of their players for World T20, which is going to start in less then a month in Srilanka.

Both teams have conceded a defeat recently, Aussie defeat was more terrible as they lost 0-4 to England, and Pakistan was defeated from Srilanka 1-3. But the teams surely have the ability to bounce back and produce some world class cricket

Aussie here are much frightened from desert heat as we are going to see all night matches. yes matches are not day&night, they are night matches as they will be started 6.00 pm local time and will be finishing after midnight. this is all to avoid the heat in day time and play in bit cooler time.

Players to watch out:

Aussie will be practicing to face the best spin attack in the world, This spin attack recently helped in a clean sweeping the number 1 team. It will be interesting to see how Clarke and company will treat the spin trio (Hafeez, Afridi, Ajmal) in Emirates.

Micheal Clarke, captain himself will take the responsibility of great Ricky Ponting who is no more in the squad now. Clarke will now bat at the most important position at no. 3.

K.Akmal is making all important comeback in Pakistan squad just before World T20. Notorious for his wicket keeping, Akmal was dropped after world cup 2011, but currently he is in top form and top scorer in ongoing SLPL  averaging 40+.
           

Facts & Trivia :

Head to Head

Team	Total	Won	Lost	Tie/NR
Pakistan	86	30	52	4
Australia	86	52	30	4

Head to Head in UAE

Team	Total	Won	Lost	Tie/NR
Pakistan	8	5	3	0
Australia	8	3	5	0

• 3 matches of ODI leg will be played in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
• Pakistan has played 3 matches with Australia at Sharjah and won all of them.
• 3 matches has been played between them at Abu Dhabi , Aussie has an upper hand with winning 2 of them.
• Saeed Ajmal need 1 wicket to make his wicket counts to 100.

This seems to be a close encounter, interesting to see how Aussie face spin here, middle overs(20-40) will be crucial as Pakistan spinners usually dug in this period. I reckon Pakistan will win the series.

Welcome

Hi everyone,
this is a new cricket blog,  I will try to my best to keep my readers interested in my articles.

first, let me tell you something about myself, who I am. I am an IT student but passionate about the game. watching game for about more than 15 years, keen follower of the game and as I belong to Pakistan so Pakistan cricket is of special interest to me. I have also played a bit of club cricket. But unfortunately due to studies I was unable to continue cricket. what ever interest and passion about the game is always there for me and been a keen follower.

I am not best at English but surely can share my point of view. I will try to put up facts and figures and will do analysis. I will also do predictions in my articles, which I think I am quite good at, but PLEASE DO NOT DO BETTING ON MY PREDICTIONS, I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISHAP. Its my passion to do analysis about the game and predict the results, but one should avoid betting.

Reminding you again, I am not best at English, this is my first article, but with the passage of time INSHA ALLAH i will become better writer and will be able to share my thoughts in a beautiful manner.

thanks