MCC cricket committee calls for restrictions to bat depth
The MCC World Cricket Committee has recommended the introduction of further limitations to the size of cricket bats within the laws of the game

The committee proposed that that the thickness and depth of bats be limited • IDI/Getty Images
- An insistence that "cricket must embrace the concept of playing T20 in the Olympic Games by applying to become a participating sport for 2024". Suggesting that such a development would represent "the single most effective move ICC could make" to realise their ambition of making cricket "the world's favourite sport", the committee reasoned that it was an opportunity "to inspire and reinvigorate the sport at the grassroots level and encourage its growth in new markets".
- A call for promotion and relegation in Test cricket, as well as "a pinnacle event between the top two teams" - effectively a final - to be contested every two years. While the committee welcomed the ICC's attempt to add context to all formats of the international game, it expressed concern over the future of Test cricket. It accepted that staging a final presented significant practical challenges, but suggested it may present the best way of "captivating an audience".
- An offer to take "one or two" of the most promising young cricketers from Pakistan into the MCC Young Cricketers programme "in future years" in recognition at the extraordinary challenges faced by Pakistan cricket, not least having to play "home" matches in a neutral country where costs are high and the lack of bilateral series against India.
- A call to change Law 42.15. "The World Cricket Committee's unanimous view was that there should be a change in the Law to mirror the current ICC playing condition," the statement reads, "that requires the non-striker to remain inside the crease before the point of release of the ball. A non-striker who is out of his crease before the point of release is either taking an advantage or is acting carelessly, and runs the risk of being legitimately run out."
George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo