Nearest ball, not nearest over - ICC tweaks powerplay rules for shortened men's T20Is

A tweak in the powerplay rules for men's T20Is is among the several changes to the playing conditions that the ICC has recently approved. The length of the powerplay will now be rounded off to the nearest ball instead of to the nearest over in case of a reduction in the overall number of overs.

As per current regulations, the first six overs comprise the powerplay in a 20-over innings. If the length of the innings is reduced, in some cases, rounding off to the nearest over could prove a major difference.

According to the new rules, effective from July, a reduced innings of eight overs, for example, will now have 2.2 overs of powerplay with two men outside the 30-yard circle. Similarly, a reduced game of nine overs in an innings will now have 2.4 overs of powerplay. This keeps the proportion much closer to 30%.

"This table has been used in the T20 Blast in England for many years, where ending a powerplay midway through an over has caused no difficulty for players or officials," the ICC told its members, ESPNcricinfo has assessed.

"It has now been accepted by the ICC Men's Cricket Committee as the preferred method moving forward," the ICC told the members. "In the eight-over example above, the umpire will make the signal after two balls of the third over, at which point three further fielders are able to drop back from within the circle."

The introduction of a stop clock in Test cricket to control over-rates, fairness of catches to be reviewed for no-balls, and fielding full-time playing replacements in domestic first-class cricket are among the other changes to the playing conditions in men's international cricket.

While some of these new rules have already come into play in the new cycle of the World Test Championship (2025-27), those pertaining to white-ball cricket will be effective from July 2.