ICC okays equal match-day pay for female officials to promote gender equality

The initiative, set to be implemented in January 2024, takes another stride towards equal opportunities in the sport.

“The reforms include the equalization of match-day pay for ICC umpires, regardless of whether they are officiating men’s or women’s cricket matches,” the ICC said.

Apart from this, the Chief Executives’ Committed (CEC) also recommended including at least one neutral umpire in every ICC Women’s Championship series, in line with the long-standing practice in men’s international cricket.

ALSO READ: ICC shifts Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 South Africa from Sri Lanka

Among other things, the board approved new gender eligibility regulations for women’s cricket according to which male-to-female participants. Those who have undergone male puberty will not be eligible to compete in the international women’s game, as per the rule, irrespective of any surgical or gender reassignment treatment undertaken.

The International Cricket Council said they will revisit these regulations within two years to align with the sport’s evolving landscape. However, these regulations will remain under the jurisdiction of individual member boards at the domestic level.

“The changes to the gender eligibility regulations resulted from an extensive consultation process and are founded in science, aligning with the core principles developed during the review,” ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said.

“Inclusivity is incredibly important to us as a sport, but our priority was to protect the integrity of the international women’s game and the safety of players,” he added.

Stop Clock:

Looking forward to reinventing the game, the ICC agreed to implement a trial ‘stop clock’ in men’s ODI and T20I cricket from December 2023 to April 2024.

As per details, a five-run penalty will be imposed the third time a bowling team fails to be ready to bowl the next over within 60 seconds of completing the previous one.

With this move, the ICC aims to improve the pace of the game and enhance the spectator experience.

Pitch and outfield monitoring regulations:

The ICC-approved changes include a simplification of the criteria for pitch assessment and an increase in the threshold for when a venue might lose its international status, from five to six demerit points over five years.

Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.

Updated: 21 Nov 2023, 07:25 PM IST