Move to curtail substitutes
NZPA-Reuter London The “Dennis Lillees,” of English cricket who go off to change their shirt will leave their side one man short if the Test and County Cricket Board accept a new rule at their meeting on December 17. Among the recommendations by the board’s cricket committee is a suggestion that substitutes should be allowed only for a player
who is ill or injured during a championship match. Last season, Lillee, touring England with the Australian team, left the field to change his shirt after every spell to ensure that he did not risk a relapse during his recovery from viral pneumonia. The England captain, Mike Brearley, queried Lillees practice, but the habit still spread to other bowlers. If the rule is tightened, shirt-changes and boot-re-pairs will be carried out with
only 10 men on the field. The committee propose an increase of 30 minutes each day in county games, with standard hours of 11.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. on the first two days and 11.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. on the last. If the extra time is approved it will mean a total boost by three hours per match compared with 1973. In 1974, the traditional starting time was brought forward from 11.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m.
As a further move to encourage spinners, the committee want a new ball to be available after 100 overs instead of 85. Circles round the wicket should become a feature of all one-day competitions after the successful experiment last season in the Prudential Trophy and Benson and Hedges Cup. Four-day championship matches, long favoured by some counties, stand little
chance of being introduced. The board is expected to give a stamp of approval to the current structure of the game, with one possible minor amendment of 24 instead of 22 championship games from 1983.
The cricket committee “consider the balance between three-day and one-day matches is about right. They are not in favour of increasing the number of one-day matches or introducing fourday championship matches.”
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Press, 5 December 1981, Page 64
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337Move to curtail substitutes Press, 5 December 1981, Page 64
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