ICC drops batting Powerplay, makes cricket bowler-friendly

Bridgetown (Barbados), June 27 (IANS) In a bid to make the sport more balanced between bat and ball, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced several changes which will make the game a little more bowler-friendly when the rules come in to effect from July 5. The biggest change that will come about is that the sport's governing body has decided to drop the batting Powerplay which is held between overs 15-40. The ICC also decided to do away with the compulsory catches rule in the 10 overs. Another major change that will help the bowlers in the death overs is that from July 5 onwards five fielders, and not four, will be allowed outside the 30-yard circle in the last 10 overs. These rules are applicable in One-Day International (ODI) cricket. Another change that will be applicable in both ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals is that all no balls, and not just foot faults, will result in free hits. The key changes: - No compulsory catchers in overs 1-10 (ODIs) - No batting Powerplay between overs 15-40 (ODIs) - Five fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle in overs 41-50 (ODIs) - All 'no balls', not just 'foot faults', to result in a free hit (ODIs & T20Is)