The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) passed new laws on Wednesday that will eliminate the 'Mankad' method of dismissing batters off the list of individuals who have been accused of unfair play. The MCC has also prohibited the use of saliva to polish cricket balls.
The far-reaching regulations will take effect in October 2022.
The MCC said in a statement that the game had developed and that the MCC Laws sub-committee had recommended revisions for the 2022 Code, "which were then adopted at the Club's Main Committee meeting last week."
According to the MCC, the law on running out the non-striker — sometimes known as the "Mankad" dismissal when a bowler chooses to whip off the bails instead of completing his delivery to the batter on strike when a non-striker walks out of the crease — would no longer be considered "unfair play."
"Law 41.16 (running out the non-striker) has been changed from Law 41 (Unfair Play) to Law 38 (Criminal Procedure)" (Run out). The Law's wording hasn't changed," the MCC said in a statement.
It also stated that applying saliva to the ball was no longer authorised since "it (applied saliva) had little or no impact on the amount of swing the bowlers were obtaining," according to the study.
"Law 41.3 — No saliva: When cricket resumed after Covid-19, most forms of the game included playing conditions specifying that adding saliva to the ball was no longer authorised. According the MCC's analysis, this had little or no effect on the amount of swing the bowlers received. Sweat was used by players to polish the ball, and it worked just as well.
"The new rules prohibit fielders from using their saliva to apply to the ball, which eliminates any grey areas that could arise from fielders eating sugary treats and altering their saliva to apply to the ball." "Using saliva to change the condition of the ball will be treated the same as any other unfair means of changing the condition of the ball," the MCC stated.
Changes to note: Law 1: Replacement players, Law 18: Batters returning when caught, Law 20.4.2.12: Dead ball, Law 21.4: Bowler throwing towards striker’s end before delivery, Law 22.1 – Judging a wide, Law 25.8: Striker’s right to play the ball, Laws 27.4 and 28.6: Unfair movement by the fielding side.
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