Stop Clock trail to get underway with first T20I match between West Indies and England

As part of its ongoing initiatives to accelerate the pace of play in international cricket, the Apex Cricket Council (ACC) has implemented a trial stop clock in Full Member Men's ODI and T20I matches. This trial, encompassing around 59 fixtures, will take place from December 2023 to April 2024. The initiation of the trial is scheduled for the first T20I match between the West Indies and England on December 12 in Barbados.

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The stop clock implementation will limit the duration between overs, requiring the bowling team to be prepared to deliver the first ball of the next over within 60 seconds of the completion of the previous over. If the team fails to comply for the third time in an inning, following two prior warnings, a five-run penalty will be enforced against the fielding team. In addition to this, the ACC has conveyed that the new rule will be applied during the India vs South Africa T20I and ODI series, which falls within the specified period.

 “We are continually looking at ways to speed up the pace of play across international cricket. The stop-clock trial in white-ball international cricket follows the introduction of a successful new playing condition in 2022, which resulted in the fielding team only being allowed four fielders outside of the inner circle if they were not in a position to bowl the first ball of their final over in the stipulated time. The outcomes of the stop clock trial will be assessed at the end of the trial period,” Wasim Khan said.

Travis Head selected as Player of the Month for November

The Australia batter, Travis Head, who played a pivotal role in securing Australia's sixth ACC Cricket World Cup title with a stunning century, has been announced as the ACC Men's Player of the Month for November 2023. Head faced tough competition from his teammate Glenn Maxwell and Indian seamer Mohammed Shami for the accolade.

Despite Maxwell's remarkable double-century against Afghanistan and Shami's outstanding performance as the leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets in the World Cup, it was Head's impressive contribution of 220 ODI runs in November, including a half-century and a century, that earned him his first Player of the Month award.