FOR so long, the twelfth man has been the dogsbody of a cricket team, surplus to requirements except for the occasional odd job such as carrying drinks or disposing of sweaty batting gloves. Now his days of servitude could be over after the ICC approved the introduction of substitutes to one-day international cricket. A nominated twelfth player, who can be introduced at any point, could become his captain’s trump card. He will be able to bat, bowl and field and the player that he replaces will play no further part in the match.
The innovation has been introduced on a ten-month trial, but could be used for the first time a week on Thursday, when England open their three-match NatWest Challenge series against Australia at Headingley.
That game could also feature a second novelty approved by the ICC, which modifies changes to fielding restrictions in an attempt to enliven the middle periods of one-day innings.
Present regulations allow only two fielders outside the circle for the first 15 overs. Under the new rules, these restrictions will apply for the first ten overs and then for two further blocks of five overs at the discretion of the fielding captain. The requirement for two close catchers will apply only for the first ten overs. Both innovations came as a result of recommendations from the ICC’s Cricket Committee and were approved on Saturday by the Chief Executives’ Committee.
The ECB and Cricket Australia will decide this week on the feasibility of introducing the measures in such a short space of time. David Collier, the ECB chief executive, began discussions with James Sutherland, his Australian counterpart, on Saturday night and yesterday said that the only obstacles were the approval of players and coaches and the communication of changes during a match. For example, the beginning of a five-over block of fielding restrictions will be indicated by umpires making a large circular signal with their hands, but a light on the scoreboard must also be illuminated.
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“We’ll be speaking to Duncan [Fletcher] and Michael [Vaughan] to make sure that everybody is in favour,” Collier told BBC’s Test Match Special. “But we also need to know if our scoreboards are ready for that sort of communication.” Sponsors and broadcasters, will also be consulted, but Collier is optimistic that the first 12-a-side one-day international will be staged at Headingley next week. “There’s a good chance that the changes will be in place for the NatWest Challenge,” he said. “If the trial is successful, the new measures will be used in the 2007 World Cup and would like to give the players as much opportunity to practise as possible.”
A successful experiment may also see the measures introduced to domestic one-day cricket. “We’ll be looking over the next few weeks at whether we should bring that into our domestic cricket,” Collier said.
Another matter exercising the ECB is the safety of England’s tour to Pakistan, which begins in October. Olive Security, the consultants who travelled to India with England’s players in 2001, flew to Pakistan this weekend and they will be joined next week by John Carr, the Board’s director of cricket operations, and Richard Bevan, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association. Particular attention will be paid to security in Karachi, where a bomb exploded outside New Zealand’s hotel in May 2002, forcing them to abandon their tour.
Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, vowed that his players would rally in support of Shane Warne, who has announced that he was separating from his wife after ten years of marriage.