ICC has no plans to usurp MCC authority

It may have flouted tradition by moving to Dubai from Lord's, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) has no plans to usurp the Marylebone Cricket Club's authority and become the guardian of the laws of cricket. At present, the laws are the only aspect of the game not under ICC control, though it regulates them and pushes through changes in tandem with the MCC.

Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, was keen to stress that the balance would remain even as cricket flirted for the first time with the idea of substitutes. "The ICC and the MCC work very closely together in reviewing the laws if this is required," he said in an interview with Indo-Asian News Service. "This arrangement works very well. Cricket is a game of rich traditions and the ICC respects the role of the MCC as the guardian of the Laws of Cricket."

England and Australia played the first one-day international to adopt the new playing conditions on Thursday, with fielding restrictions in place for 20 overs - the first 10 at a stretch - and a substitute allowed for either side. The more revolutionary change, though, was the decision to make the 12th man more than a carrier of drinks and towels, with the captain able to replace anyone in the original line-up.

Vikram Solanki made history when he was pencilled in to replace Simon Jones when England came out to bat late in the afternoon. The changes were proposed by the ICC's Cricket Committee headed by Sunil Gavaskar, and adopted at a meeting last month. They will be reviewed next summer.