The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) have introduced new rules to combat slow over rates. Under the new rules, teams will be penalized if they do not bowl their overs in the allotted time.
Previously, teams that did not bowl their overs in the allotted time of 85 minutes were only penalized with monetary fines or by having to field an additional fielder inside the 30-yard circle.
However, these penalties were not effective in improving over rates, as innings spread over more than 90 minutes often.
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CPL over-rate rules
The new rules are much stricter as the league looks to make the game swifter. If a team does not bowl their 17th over by 72 minutes 15 seconds, they will have to bring a fifth fielder inside the 30-yard circle.
If they do not bowl their 18th over by 76 minutes 30 seconds, they will have to bring in a sixth fielder. And if they do not bowl their 19th over by 80 minutes 45 seconds, they will have to remove one fielder from the field before the start of the 20th over, and bowl with just 10 players.
This last penalty is the most interesting, as it will effectively reduce the CPL and WCPL matches to 10 versus 11 contests.
In short, the fielding side is expected to have completed the following overs by the following times:
- 17th over: 72 minutes and 15 seconds
- 18th over: 76 minutes and 30 seconds
- 19th over: 80 minutes and 45 seconds
The penalties will be as follows:
- Short after 17 overs: One fielder must enter the 30 yard circle
- Short after 18 overs: Two fielders must enter the 30 yard circle
- Short after 19 overs: One fielder must exit the field
In addition to the stricter over-rate penalties, the CPL and WCPL have also introduced new rules to discourage time wasting by the batting team. After a first and final warning from the umpires, the batting team will be given a five-run penalty for each instance of deliberate time-wasting.
The third umpire will be responsible for monitoring the over rates during CPL and WCPL matches.
They will communicate the same to the on-field umpires at the end of every over, and this information will also be displayed to the crowd and TV audience. Graphics will show how far each team is behind (or ahead) of the over rate.
Dispensations will be given for injuries, DRS, and time-wasting by the batting side.
For example, if a player is injured and needs medical attention, the over rate will be adjusted accordingly. Similarly, if the batting team is using DRS, they will be given an extra 30 seconds per over. And if the batting team is deliberately wasting time, they will be penalized with a five-run penalty.
