Ashes cricketers "will have to watch their step when they take to the field later this year," with the Marylebone Cricket Club confirming on Tuesday its plans to implement "new laws that will see players sent off for serious acts of misconduct," according to Mike Hytner of the London GUARDIAN. In a "range of new rules" to come into effect in October, the MCC will also "clamp down on the size of bats" in a bid to "redress the balance between bat and ball." The changes, which include other on-field sanctions such as penalty runs for poor player behavior, will come into effect in time for the '17-18 Ashes series, to be played on Australian soil between November and January. Bats, which have "steadily increased in thickness over recent years and prompted accusations in some quarters that batsmen now hold an unfair advantage over bowlers," will be limited to maximum dimensions of 108mm in width and 67mm in depth with 40mm edges (GUARDIAN, 3/7). REUTERS' Ian Ransom reported the rule change was "decided after consultations with players, manufacturers and global governing bodies." The MCC's John Stephenson said, "The bat size issue has been heavily scrutinized and discussed in recent years. We believe the maximum dimensions we have set will help redress the balance between bat and ball, while still allowing the explosive, big hitting we all enjoy." The MCC said that offenses including throwing the ball at a player or making deliberate physical contact with an opponent would result in the "immediate awarding of five penalty runs to the opposing team." Stephenson added, "We felt the time had come to introduce sanctions for poor player behavior and research told us that a growing number of umpires at grassroots level were leaving the game because of it" (REUTERS, 3/7). The BBC reported the MCC is the "guardian of the laws and spirit of the game," and has a world cricket committee -- established in '06 -- of 12 current and former top int'l players which made its recommendations last December. This is the first time a new code of laws has been written since '00 (BBC, 3/7).
