West Indies vs England: ICC to begin stop clock trial from first T20I in Barbados

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced a stop clock that will be trialled starting with the first T20I between West Indies and England in Barbados on Tuesday. The stop clock is an attempt to speed up the duration of a match. According to the ICC, the stop clock rule requires the bowling team to be prepared to bowl the first ball of the next over within a minute of the previous over being completed.

Failure to do so for the third time in an innings (following two warnings) will result in a five-run penalty being imposed against the fielding team.

The outcomes of the stop clock trial will be assessed at the end of the trial period, Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager Cricket, said.

“We are continually looking at ways to speed up the pace of play across international cricket,” he said.

“The stop clock trial in white ball international cricket follows the introduction of a successful new playing condition in 2022, which resulted in the fielding team only being allowed four fielders outside of the inner circle if they were not in a position to bowl the first ball of their final over in the stipulated time,” he added.

With PTI inputs