ICC Approves Stop Clock Rule - How Does It Work, Is There Any Exception - Explained

"The stop-clock is set to become permanent in all ODIs and T20Is from June 2024, starting with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA,” the ICC said on Friday after its Annual Board Meeting.

The International Cricket Council, the games governing body, introduced the stop clock rule in December 2023, and it is currently on trial. The rule stipulates that the fielding side will have to start a new over within 60 seconds of the completion of the previous over.

The failure to do so attracts two warnings, and the subsequent breaches lead to a five-run penalty per incident. And the trial has been deemed successful.

"The trial was supposed to run until April 2024, but the experiment has already yielded results in terms of timely completion of matches, saving approximately 20 minutes per ODI match," the statement added.

An electronic clock -- counting down from 60 to zero -- will be displayed on the ground. The third umpire can determine the start of the clock.

There are exceptions though.

If a new batter comes to the crease between the overs, during official drinks interval or the on-field treatment of an injury to a batter or a fielder.

The rule will also not be applied if the time is lost because of circumstances beyond the control of the fielding side.