LONDON, (Reuters) – Umpires will now be the sole judges of whether the light is fit to allow play in one of eight amendments to the rules of cricket which will come into effect today.
Under the previous regulations the two umpires would ask the batsmen if they wished to continue when the light deteriorated.
The amendment is aimed at reducing the amount of lost time as batsmen usually accepted the option to leave the field. “The batting side will no longer have any say in the decision, which was often made for tactical reasons,” a statement from the Marylebone Cricket Club, which is responsible for the rules, said yesterday.
