Wednesday 27 September 2017 11:30, UK
International cricketers could be sent off for the first time, starting with Test matches in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates later this week, as new regulations come into force.
Changes to on-field indiscipline, the governing of umpire referrals and bat sizes will all come into force from Thursday when the Proteas host Bangladesh in Potchefstroom, live on Sky Sports, and Sri Lanka travel to play Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
A player can be dismissed from the field of play for the rest of a Test, one-day or T20 international matches for serious misconduct under the new rules introduced by the International Cricket Council.
Sending-off offences could include threatening an umpire, making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with an umpire, assaulting a player or any other person and any other act of violence.
The Decision Review System (DRS), in which a television umpire reviews decisions made by umpires on the field, will also be allowed in Twenty20 internationals after its success in Test and one-day matches.
To maintain the balance between bat and ball, there are new ICC restrictions on the size of bat edges and its thickness. Umpires will use a new gauge to check legality.
The ICC said all changes "will be applicable across all (three) formats".
"Most of the changes to the ICC playing conditions are being made as a result of changes to the laws of cricket that have been announced by the MCC," ICC general manager Geoff Allardyce said in a statement.
"We have just completed a workshop with the umpires to ensure they understand all of the changes and we are now ready to introduce the new playing conditions to international matches."
If a team refers an umpire's decision to the TV umpire and the on-field decision remains unchanged because the DRS shows "umpire's call", the team will not lose that review.
However, teams will now have only two unsuccessful reviews for the entire innings of a Test. Previously the unsuccessful reviews were replenished after the first 80 overs.
This changes will come into effect for all international series starting on or after September 28, 2017, therefore excluding the remainder of the England v West Indies one-day series or India and Australia's ODIs.
