The International Cricket Council (ICC) made a few tweaks to its playing conditions. The new changes came into effect on June 17, 2025.
From the stop clock in Tests to concussion replacements, here’s a rundown of the new ICC playing conditions.
Stop Clock Rule in Test Cricket
While the stop clock rule isn’t new to international cricket, it will now cover Tests as well. The white-ball games played since June 2024 already have the stop clock rule in place.
After success in limited-overs formats, the ICC has brought the rule to the Test format. Now, bowling teams must start their next over within 60 seconds after the completion of the last over.
If teams fail to stick to the rule, they will receive two warnings from the umpire. But a third offence will result in a five-run penalty.
These warnings, though, will remain in place for blocks of 80 overs. Once the first 80 overs finish, the warnings will become zero for the next block of overs.
For instance, a fielding team receives two warnings in the first 80 overs. At the start of the 81st over, the warnings from the previous 80 overs will no longer be in place.
Two-ball Start, the One Ball in ODIs
As usual, an ODI innings will begin with two new balls. But the bowling side will operate with two balls till the 34th over.
From the 35th over onwards, the bowling team can pick one of the two balls and continue to bowl the rest of the innings.
You can read about this tweak in more detail here.
Boundary Catches
Boundary catches have become slightly tricky. Fielders will need to time their jumps on boundary ropes to claim legal catches or save runs.
The new conditions mandate the fielders to land inside the ropes after they make airborne contact with the ball outside the boundary in one attempt. They can go outside the boundary once after tossing the ball up and then immediately return inside to complete the catch.
Read about the new boundary catch rule in detail here.
Deliberate Short Runs
Batters need to reach the popping crease on both sides to complete a run. But if one of the batters fails to reach the crease and returns for a second run, then the umpire will signal it as a short run.
And if the umpire feels the batter did it deliberately, then a five-run penalty will be imposed. While the penalty was in place earlier, now the fielding side can ask one of the two batters to face the next ball.
So, if the fielding team wants the non-striker to face the next ball, the two batters will have to swap their positions.
Concussion Replacements
If a player suffers a concussion injury in a match, then teams can make a like-for-like replacement from their reserves. But first, they will need to name their designated concussion replacement players before the match starts. This is similar to how teams nominate their substitute fielders.
Earlier, teams could pick a like-for-like replacement from a larger pool. Now, teams can make a like-for-like replacement from the pool of four or five designated players.
On top of that, a player with a concussion injury can’t feature in a match for at least the next seven days. This change prioritises the well-being of the injured players.
Powerplay in Shortened T20I Matches
If a T20I innings is reduced due to some reasons, its powerplay will be tweaked based on the available balls rather than the overs.
In such a case, the powerplay won’t be longer than 30 per cent of the innings duration. Suppose an innings is reduced to 11 overs (66 balls). Then the first 20 balls (3.2 overs) will be part of the powerplay overs.
Find out how the powerplay system will work in shortened T20Is here.
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