Big Decision By ICC Front Of World Test Championship Final’ Soft Signal’ By On-field Umpires Scrapped: The problematic “soft signal” used by on-field officials, which was frequently attacked by experts because it is thought to have caused extra confusion for TV umpires when a decision was referred upstairs, has been eliminated by the ICC.
The problematic “soft signal” used by on-field officials, which had been frequently questioned by experts because it is thought to have caused extra confusion for TV umpires when a decision was referred upstairs, has been eliminated by the ICC. The soft signal’ was used to assess catches made just inches above the ground that couldn’t always be verified with the naked eye. ICC guidelines state that a “soft signal is the visual indication sent to the third umpire by the bowler’s end umpire (supported by
Up until this point, the on-field umpire used their intuition to determine whether to call a player out or not. And because much of the film turned out to be inconclusive, the third umpire was forced to use a “soft signal.”
Following the CEC’s approval of the proposals made by the Sourav Ganguly-led men’s and women’s cricket committees, the ICC made amendments to the “playing conditions.”
“The main change was the elimination of the soft signal, which freed umpires from having to use one when referring decisions to the TV umpire. Before making any decisions, the on-field umpires will confer with the TV umpire, according to the ICC.
Former Indian captain Ganguly said, “Soft gestures have been discussed in previous meetings of the Cricket Committee over the years.” After much deliberation, the committee came to the conclusion that soft signals were redundant and sometimes confusing as catches could be called inconclusive in replays. The helmet requirement in high-risk situations was the subject of another important announcement. When hitters are facing fast bowlers, wicketkeepers are up to the stumps, and fielders are close to the batsman in front of the wicket, helmets must be worn.
New ‘free hit rule’
There was also a minor addition to the free hit rule, when the ball hit the stumps any run scored on a free hit would henceforth count as a run scored by the batsman instead of going on the scoreboard bye.
The changes will come into effect on June 1, 2023, with the Lord’s Test between England and Ireland, a four-day one-dayer.
The next World Test Championship final between India and Australia, starting June 7, will also follow these new playing conditions.
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