FORMUN ’15 By Love Serve One Another 28th to 31st Jan 2015 International Cricket Council – FORMUN’15 Introduction: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the international governing body of cricket. The ICC has 106 members: 10 Full Members those play-official Test matches, 37 Associate Members, and 59 Affiliate Members. The ICC is responsible for the organization and governance of cricket's major international tournaments, most notably the Cricket World Cup. It also appoints the umpires and referees that officiate at all sanctioned Test matches, One Day International and Twenty20 International's. It promulgates the ICC Code of Conduct, which sets professional standards of discipline for international cricket, and also co-ordinates action against corruption and match-fixing through its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU). The ICC does not control bilateral fixtures between member countries (which include all Test matches), it does not govern domestic cricket in member countries, and it does not make the laws of the game, which remain under the control of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Rules and regulations: The International Cricket Council overlooks playing conditions, bowling reviews, and other ICC regulations. Even though the ICC does not have copyright to the laws of cricket and only the MCC may change the laws, nowadays this would usually only be done after discussions with the game's global governing body, the ICC. The ICC also has a "Code of Conduct" to which teams and players in international matches are required to adhere. Where breaches of this code occur the ICC can apply sanctions, usually fines. In 2008 the ICC imposed 19 penalties on players. Powerplay: A power play is a name for fielding restrictions in One-day International's and Twenty20 Internationale's Rules: Mandatory power play (1-10 overs): In an uninterrupted match (i.e. 50 overs), the first 10 overs of an innings will be a mandatory power play. During the mandatory power play only two fielder's are allowed outside the 30-yard circle and there must be a minimum of two stationary fielders in catching positions (15 yards) measured from the strike's end at the instant of delivery. When a fast bowler is bowling the two stationary fieldsmen may be permitted to stand deeper than 15 yards provided only that they are standing in slip, leg slip or gully positions. Batting power play: The second power play is a block of five overs: which will be at the discretion of either of the batsman at the wicket. It is often referred to as the batting power play. During batting power play overs, only three FORMUN ’15 By Love Serve One Another 28th to 31st Jan 2015 fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle. There are no requirements about close catcher's in a batting power play. In an innings of scheduled duration of between 41 and 50 overs, the batting power play may not be completed later than the 40th over. Should the batting side choose not to exercise their discretion, their power play overs will automatically commence at the latest available point in the innings (e.g. in a 50 over innings, this will begin at the start of the 36th over). During the non-power play overs (35 overs in a 50 over game), no more than four fielder's shall be permitted outside the fielding restriction area (the 30-yard circle). When the batting team's number of overs is reduced, the number of power play overs shall be reduced. In the event of an infringement of any of the above fielding restrictions, the square leg umpire shall call and signal ‘No Ball’. Reasons: Fielding restrictions evolved through the 1970s, notably in World Series Cricket,[2] and were first introduced in ODIs in 1980 in Australia. The most common rule was for only two fieldsmen to be allowed outside the circle in the first fifteen overs, then five fieldsmen allowed outside the circle for the remaining overs. The power play moniker was introduced by the International Cricket Council in 2005, when the fielding restrictions were split into three blocks: the mandatory ten overs at the start of the innings and two further five-over power plays with the bowling team being able to choose the timing of both. In practice though, both were generally taken as soon as possible, effectively leading to a single block of 20 overs of fielding restrictions. To counter this, in 2008, the batting team was given discretion for the timing of one of the two power plays. From October 1, 2011, the ICC brought additional changes to the bowling and batting power plays. Under the new rules, in a 50-over match, neither power play may be taken before the start of the 16th over and both must be completed before the commencement of the 41st over, so overs 11 to 15 and 41 to 50 cannot be power play overs. Should either or both teams choose not to exercise their discretion, their power play overs will automatically commence at the latest available point in the innings (e.g. in a 50-over innings with one unclaimed power play, it will begin at the start of the 36th over). On October 29, 2012 The International Cricket Council made further amendments on powers plays, reducing the number of blocks of Power plays from three to two. Balling Action: In the sport of cricket, throwing, commonly referred to as chucking(balling action), is an illegal bowling action which occurs when a bowler straightens their arm when delivering the ball. The Laws of Cricket specify that a bowlers arm must not extend during the bowling action. Only the rotation of the shoulder can be used to impart velocity to the ball. Throws are not allowed. If the umpire deems that the ball has FORMUN ’15 By Love Serve One Another 28th to 31st Jan 2015 been thrown, he will call a no ball which means the batsman cannot be given out from that delivery. Current regulations of the International Cricket Council (ICC) set the legal limit of 15 degrees of permissible straightening of the elbow joint for all bowlers in international cricket. This law applies between the point at which the bowling arm passes above shoulder height and the point at which the ball is released. The limit is to allow some natural flexing of the elbow joint which happens during the course of legal delivery. The charge of 'throwing' against a bowler is one of the most serious and controversial that can be made in cricket, as a bowler with an illegal action cannot dismiss a batsman. This means the player cannot effectively participate in the game, and may not be selected again without significant change to the way they bowl. Rules: A ball is fairly delivered in respect of the arm if, once the bowler's arm has reached the level of the shoulder in the delivery swing, the elbow joint is not straightened partially or completely from that point until the ball has left the hand. This definition shall not debar a bowler from flexing or rotating the wrist in the delivery swing. The ICC formed an expert panel comprising bio mechanists Professor Bruce Elliott of The University of Western Australia, Dr Marc Portus of the Australian Institute of Sport and Dr Paul Hurrion from the UK who presented during a forum of a special ICC cricket sub-committee for illegal bowling actions in late 2003 in Dubai. The sub-committee was David Richardson, Angus Fraser, Aravinda De Silva, Michael Holding, Tony Lewis and Tim May. After this meeting the ICC decided to raise the elbow extension tolerance threshold to 15 degrees for all bowlers. This limit was chosen after considering bio mechanical findings from 130 pace and spin bowlers, the scientific issues with measurement, and that bowling actions considered to be "throw-like", or illegal, were usually measured to be well above 15 degrees of elbow extension, often in the 20 to 30 degree range. In more recent times bowlers such as England's James Kirtley, Australia's Brett Lee and Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar and Shabbir Ahmed have fallen under the microscope to varying degrees. Muttiah Muralitharan, one of the modern era's most celebrated exponents of spin bowling was dogged by controversy over his bowling action for much of his international career. Since his debut, he was under scrutiny from umpires due to an unusual hyper extension of his congenitally bent arm during delivery. Despite initial criticism, the first occasion when his action became a real issue was when Australian umpire Darrell Hair called him for throwing during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, 1995. Bio mechanical trials exonerates him in the eyes of the ICC, but some players, umpires and spectators remain unconvinced. Hair publicly stated that he would not hesitate to call Murali for throwing again, given the opportunity, and considered his bowling action "diabolical". The inability of cricket's officials to agree on the legality of Muralitharan's action, and the reluctance of other umpires to call him for throwing meant Hair was isolated and was later excluded from officiating in matches involving Sri Lanka. Subsequent bio-mechanical tests exonerated Muralitharan's action, showing that he did not extend his arm any more than many other bowlers with legal actions. Unfortunately this testing never completely FORMUN ’15 By Love Serve One Another 28th to 31st Jan 2015 cleared his action in the eyes of his critics, who claim the extension of the arm differs between bowling in testing and in game situations, and also when he bowls particular deliveries.