Cricket: Plans to hit tardy players with heavier fines

Umpire Ian Gould checks his watch during a test match between Australia and Pakistan at The Gabba on December 18, 2016 in Brisbane, Australia. Photo / Getty

Teams being tardy with their over rates will face run sanctions, if recommendations by the game's world cricket committee are accepted.

The committee, which includes several high profile former players, believes it's high time captains, and teams, are called to account.

Test over rates are the slowest they have been for 11 years, and in T20s it is even worse. They have never been slower.

Among the ideas is the introduction of a shot clock system, similar to that in tennis, to speed up, or at least keep honest, the rate of serves.

"It probably seems a little extreme," said former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, a member of the MCC committee.

"But anyone who has sat on committees around the world for the past 20 years has talked about the declining over rates, and once again this year in all three formats of the game the over rates have been in decline."

The shot clock idea essentially measures dead time in a game. It's not marking the time from the start of an over to its completion, for example, but it is aimed at trimming the time between overs.

One idea has a fourth umpire measuring the time a fielding side takes between balls and overs, moving fielders, having on-field conversations or taking up positions for the start of a new over.

The clock could be visible, so fielders are in no doubt as the seconds tick away.

Also up for discussion are sanctions such as in-game penalty runs.

Sides who transgress at present are hit with fines, although a captain can be suspended if his or her team are serial offenders. Not enough, says Ponting.

"The financial fining of players at the end of a test match has been administered often and we are of the belief that a 'there and then' penalty in the game would be worth looking at," he said.

"You would imagine then that the captains would take a huge responsibility in making sure their players are ready.

''If they are not in position for three or four overs that could be 20 runs and that could be the difference in a test match."

The MCC committee meets twice a year and has considerable influence on the rules of the game. It was the first body to suggest day-night tests, the universal adoption of the DRS system and limiting bat sizes.

Current members of the committee include former players Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Ramiz Raja (Pakistan), Mike Gatting (England), Sourav Ganguly (India), Ian Bishop (West Indies) along with two New Zealanders, former captain Brendon McCullum and women's captain Suzie Bates.