M. Short Pitched Balls in ALL Games (Reg 29.2)

WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?

Smoothing out some wrinkles in Laws and regs about short pitched balls in every kind of competition we have.


DISCUSSION
Where we're at right now...

SHORT PITCHED BALLS (“BOUNCERS”)
• A short pitched ball (“a bouncer”) is any ball which, after hitting the pitch, passes or would have passed over the batsman's shoulder while standing upright at the batting crease.
• In a limited over match (35, 50 or 20 overs per side) a second bouncer in an over is a no ball.
• In a two day match a second bouncer is “two bouncers for the over” (similar to first warning).
• In a two day match a third bouncer in an over is a no ball.

OVER THE HEAD BOUNCERS

• A bouncer in line with the stumps or close to the batsman is not a wide in QSDCA cricket.
• A bouncer that passes between shoulder and top of head (as measured by standing upright at the crease) will be called by the umpire as “one bouncer for the over” to the bowler, the batsman and the other umpire.
• A bouncer that passes well above the head of a batsman (as measured by standing upright at the crease) is a no ball.
• Lots of players and umpires seem to hold the confused belief that over the head bouncers (any ball which passes above the batsman’s head height) are wides.
• That belief probably comes from TV test matches where ICC Playing Conditions apply.
• QSDCA matches are obviously not Test Matches.
• The rule that applies is MCC Law 21.10.   

21.10 Ball bouncing over head height of striker
The umpire shall call and signal No ball for any delivery which, after pitching, passes or would have passed over head height of the striker standing upright at the popping crease.

• See The Laws of Cricket 2017 Code 3rd ed (2022) Link http://tinyurl.com/3wahr8pj
• See ICC Test Match Playing Conditions Effective 1 May 2021 Link http://tinyurl.com/3wsjzujz

WHAT CCC DID IN 2021

When the CCC established their rules in 2021 they chose to adopt this but made a crucial difference. They decided to make an OVER THE HEAD BOUNCER a wide (for 1 day limited overs games at least). That's strange because in Over the Head Bouncers are Wides in both Premier 2 day cricket and ICC 5 day test Matches.

 

The CCC rule on this might need some tweaking but fundamentally they just wanted to make it like on TV in ODI's/Test Cricket. i.e. a high bouncer over the batter's head is made a WIDE not a no ball as in Law 21.10.

BTW I reckon CCC adopted a less effective version of the rule and did so for limited over games only. 

I recommend they should adopt the new Reg 29.2 below as CCC Reg 19.2 and CCC Reg 32.2. (But it's gonna be up to them...)

Since players seem to like this rule, maybe we should have the same in QSDCA cricket?

 

THINGS TO FIX IN 2022

1. Define bouncers over the shoulder better. Include a better definition of over shoulder to top of head zone and include a diagram. An instruction to umpires to advise bowlers is added. (The definition revision is not contested. See New regs 29.2.1 and 29.2.2)

2. Write a rule based on the Test Match and ODI playing conditions so that an over head high becomes a wide. (The voting slip has a question to approve or not approve this change by adding New Regs 29.2.5, 29.2.6 and 29.2.7.) 

• New Regs 29.2.5 to 29.2.7 are based on the model for writing this playing regulation effectively in the ICC Playing Conditions for Tests and ODI's. See ICC Playing Conditions for 21.10, 22.1.1.2, 41.6.5 and 41.6.6 in the ICC Test Match Playing Conditions (Link http://tinyurl.com/3wsjzujz
  

• It is important to remember the wording of Law 21.13 here:

21.13 No ball to override Wide
A call of No ball shall override the call of Wide ball at any time.

i.e. No balls trump wides. So it is necessary to include a regulation saying Law 21.10 is suspended to make over the head bouncers a wide call.

 

Over the Head Bouncers are Wides in both Premier 2 day cricket, Premier One day cricket and ICC 5 day test Matches and 50 over ODI's.

• ICC Test Match Playing Conditions http://tinyurl.com/3wsjzujz
• QC Premier Cricket General Playing Conditions www.qcusa.qld.cricket.com.au/files/15677/files/competition general playing conditions.pdf

 

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HOW IT WILL WORK IN PRACTICE 

 Example of how new rule will affect certain sequences of bowling (for a QSDCA 2 dayer)

Sequence	TYPE OF BALL	CALL UNDER OLD RULES	CALL UNDER PROPOSED RULES
OVER 1
Ball 1	Between shoulder & top of head	Umpire warning “that’s 1”	Umpire warning “that’s 1”
Ball 2	Between shoulder & top of head	Umpire warning “that’s 2”	Umpire warning “that’s 2”
Ball 3	Between shoulder & top of head	No ball	No ball
OVER 2
Ball 1	Over head top	No Ball & Umpire warning “that’s 1”	Wide & Umpire warning "That's 1"
Ball 2	Over head top	No Ball & Umpire warning “that’s 2”	Wide & Umpire warning "That's 2"
Ball 3	Over head top	No Ball	No ball (overrides wide call See Law 21.13)
OVER 3
Ball 1	Over head top	No Ball & Umpire warning “that’s 1”	Wide & Umpire warning "That's 1"
Ball 2	Between shoulder & top of head	Umpire warning “that’s 2”	Umpire warning “that’s 2”
Ball 3	Between shoulder & top of head	No Ball	No ball
OVER 4
Ball 1	Between shoulder & top of head	Umpire warning “that’s 1”	Umpire warning “that’s 1”
Ball 2	Over head top	No Ball & Umpire warning “that’s 2”	Wide & Umpire warning "That's 2"
Ball 3	Over head top	No ball	No ball (overrides wide call See Law 21.13)

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PROPOSED NEW REGULATIONS

OLD REGULATION	MEANING	PROPOSED NEW WORDING
29.2 SHORT PITCHED BALLS For Saturday Two Day Matches		29.2 SHORT PITCHED BALLS For Saturday Two Day Matches
	Better definition
29.2.1 A short pitched ball is any ball which passes or would have passed over the batsman’s shoulder while standing upright at the batting crease.		29.2.1 A short-pitched ball is any ball which after bouncing on the pitch passes or would have passed above the shoulder height of the batsman standing upright at the batting crease.
	Umpire indicates and signals "that's one".	29.2.2 The umpire at the bowler’s end will advise the bowler and the batsman on strike when each short pitched delivery has been bowled.
	Keeps 3rd bouncer is a no-ball.
29.2.2 In any one over the will be a limit of two such short pitched balls.		NO CHANGE Renumber as 29.2.3
29.2.3 The third and any subsequent short pitched balls will be called a no ball by the bowler’s end umpire.		NO CHANGE Renumber as 29.2.4
	Changes over the head bouncer to a wide
	Allows Law 21.10 to be disregarded.	29.2.5 Law 21.10 will be replaced by the following.
	Bouncer over head high is a wide.	29.2.6 In addition, a ball that passes above head height of the batsman, standing upright at the batting crease that prevents him/her from being able to hit it with his bat by means of a normal cricket stroke will be called a wide.
	What happens when there's a shoulder high then a over head high or vice versa.	29.2.7 For the avoidance of doubt any short pitched delivery that is called a Wide under this playing condition will also count as one of the allowable short pitched deliveries in that over.
	An illustration...	See Diagram (number xx) below.
29.3 FREE HIT For Saturday Two Day Matches
29.3.1 There will be no free hit ball following a no ball.		NO CHANGE
29.2 SHORT PITCHED BALLS For Saturday One Day 35 Over Matches		29.2 SHORT PITCHED BALLS For Saturday One Day 35 Over Matches
	Better definition
29.2.1 A short pitched ball is any ball which passes or would have passed over the batsman’s shoulder while standing upright at the batting crease.		29.2.1 A short-pitched ball is any ball which after bouncing on the pitch passes or would have passed above the shoulder height of the batsman standing upright at the batting crease.
	Umpire signals "that's one".	29.2.2 The umpire at the bowler’s end will advise the bowler and the batsman on strike when each fast short pitched delivery has been bowled.
	Keeps 2nd bouncer is a no-ball.
29.2.2 In a one day match in any one over there will be a limit of one short pitched ball.		NO CHANGE Renumber as 29.2.3
29.2.3 In a one day match the second and any subsequent short pitched balls will be called a no ball by the bowler’s end umpire.		NO CHANGE Renumber as 29.2.4
	Changes over the head bouncer to a wide
	Allows Law 21.10 to be disregarded.	29.2.5 Law 21.10 will be replaced by the following.
	Bouncer over head high is a wide.	29.2.6 In addition, a ball that passes above head height of the batsman, standing upright at the popping crease that prevents him/her from being able to hit it with his bat by means of a normal cricket stroke will be called a wide.
	What happens when there's a shoulder high then a over head high or vice versa.	29.2.7 For the avoidance of doubt any short pitched delivery that is called a Wide under this playing condition will also count as one of the allowable short pitched deliveries in that over.
	An illustration...	See Diagram (number xx) below.
29.3 FREE HIT For Saturday One Day 35 Over Matches		NO CHANGES
	ALL THESE are THE SAME as for a Saturday 35 Over Match
29.2 SHORT PITCHED BALLS For Sunday 50 Over Matches		] Same as above
29.2 SHORT PITCHED BALLS For Super 20 Matches		]  Same as above
29.2 SHORT PITCHED BALLS For Sunday Over 40's - 40 Over Matches		] Same as above
QSDCA Bridging Competition
(No actual rule but presumably they follow something similar to Reg 29.2)		] NO CHANGES

Diagram (number xx)

Umpires will have significant difficulty in calling "grey" zone balls which are close to the top of the batsman's head. Best thing to remember is that "if in doubt, not out".

 ABM Updated 3-July-2022

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