ICC Adds Penalty Runs for Slow Batters, Allows Pink Balls in Daytime Tests Starting October 1

The International Cricket Council announced a batch of new Playing Conditions on Thursday, October 1, 2026, covering men's and women's cricket across all formats. The changes incorporate recent revisions to the MCC Laws of Cricket and apply to every international series that starts on or after October 1. Series already in progress will finish under the old rules, according to the ICC.

The headline change: batters who stall will now cost their team runs. In men's cricket, a batter who isn't ready to face the next delivery within the prescribed time gets a warning for the first offence and a final warning for the second. The third offence, and every one after that, hands the fielding side five penalty runs. Repeat offenders can also be hit with Code of Conduct charges.

ICC Men's Cricket Committee Chair Sourav Ganguly said the update was built to keep the game moving without changing its character. "These changes have been carefully considered to ensure the Playing Conditions continue to reflect the needs of the modern game while maintaining its integrity and consistency," Ganguly said, according to the ICC.

Where This Came From

The time-wasting rule has a direct line back to the 2025 Lord's Test between India and England. According to India Today, India captain Shubman Gill got into a public confrontation with England's Zak Crawley after Gill alleged Crawley and Ben Duckett were deliberately slow getting to the crease to run out the clock on Day 3's final over. That flashpoint, caught on camera and replayed endlessly, became the poster child for exactly the kind of gamesmanship the ICC says it's now penalizing with hard runs on the scoreboard instead of just a stern word from the umpire.

Pink Ball Gets a Day Test Option

Teams can now mutually agree, before a Test starts, to play with a pink ball during daytime hours instead of the traditional red one. The goal, per the ICC, is cutting down on play lost to bad light. But the rule is rigid once set: "The use of a pink ball must be agreed before the start of the Test and once agreed, must apply for the duration of the match. The decision cannot be changed after the match has started. Switching from a red ball to a pink ball is also not allowed once the match has commenced," the ICC said.

The first series to operate under the full new rulebook is the World Test Championship series between Australia and South Africa, which the ICC confirmed falls under the new conditions.

No More Early Escape on a Late Wicket

Another change: a wicket falling in the final over of a day's play no longer automatically ends the day early. If light and weather allow, play continues. The ICC's reasoning, as quoted by Social News XYZ and separately carried by AP7AM, is blunt: "This change has been made because it does not save time as the remaining deliveries still need to be bowled the next day, while it will also reward the fielding team and keep drama in the game."

Fielding Rules Get Sharper Edges

Two gray areas got cleaned up. First, overthrows: the ICC clarified that an overthrow only counts when a fielder is actively trying to hit the stumps to prevent runs or force a run-out. A simple misfield or a botched throw to a teammate doesn't qualify anymore.

Second, run-outs and stumpings now require a fielder to show "complete control of the ball." Just grazing the ball with a hand while it breaks the stumps won't cut it. Umpires also got more discretion on when a ball is "finally settled" in dead-ball situations, since it no longer has to physically sit in the bowler's or keeper's hands to count as settled, according to the ICC.

Women's Cricket Gets Its Own Ball

For years, manufacturers often used one ball spec for both women's and junior cricket. That ends now. The ICC introduced three distinct size and weight tolerances, one each for men's, women's, and junior cricket, closing a gap that had effectively treated adult women players and junior cricketers as interchangeable when it came to equipment.

What's Still Unclear

The pink-ball provision is explicitly labeled a trial, not a permanent fixture, and the ICC hasn't said how long the trial period runs or what data will determine whether it sticks. Nor is it clear yet whether any boards have lined up to actually use it in an upcoming Test. Social News XYZ also reported a fixed 15-minute change affecting T20I breaks, though neither it, AP7AM, nor the ICC's own posted conditions spell out the specifics of what that time limit governs. Cricket fans will find out how the penalty-run rule plays out in practice the first time a batter eats a Code of Conduct charge over stalling during the Australia-South Africa WTC series.