ICC issues new guidelines for Super Over to decide tied T20I matches

Super-Overs have been the talk of the town ever since that controversial ending in the 2019 World Cup final between England and New Zealand. Back then, the winner of a tied Super Over- which is exactly what happened on that night of the World Cup final at Lord’s- was decided on the boundary count [ No of 4s + No of 6s] in the actual game. 

The rule came under heavy criticism from both pundits and fans which led to the International Cricket Council scrapping the rule and replacing it with multiple Super Overs in case of a tied six-ball affair. This means that there can be multiple Super-Overs until a clear winner emerges. These regulations will come into force in the upcoming T20Is series when South Africa locks horns with England and Australia.

“If the match is tied a Super Over is played. If the Super Over is a tie, then subsequent Super Overs shall be played until there is a winner,” state a clause in the new guidelines.

The ICC hasn’t put a cap on the number of Super Overs to decide the tie-breaker but in the event where there is a time crunch in a scenario like the double-headers- as in the case of T20Is- the home board can issue a notification to the visiting team and its board and limit the number of possible Super Overs.

“In circumstances where there are unavoidable time constraints, such as, but not limited to, double-header matches which do not allow the completion of multiple Super Over(s) the Home Board may, prior to the start of the series and by notification to the participating teams, limit the number of possible Super Overs,” state the ICC guidelines.

So, what is the procedure of the Super Over?

• Unless there is a time-constant or exceptional circumstances, there shall be an unlimited number of Super-Overs played to decide the tie-breaker [Clause 24]
• In the Super-Over, each team will face one over and the winner will be the team that ends up scoring more runs.
• Each team will have two wickets in the Super-Over; the loss of two wickets ends the team’s one-over innings.
• Each team shall be allowed to make one unsuccessful Player Review in each innings of the Super Over. This entitlement shall apply irrespective of the number of unsuccessful Player Review requests made by the team during the match itself.
• Subjected to weather conditions, the Super-Over shall take place on the scheduled day of the match at a time to be determined by the ICC Match Referee. In normal circumstances, it shall commence five minutes after the conclusion of the match.
• The Super-Over will be played until completion, but if there are any delays or interruptions during the Super-Over, Extra Time [taken from the start of first Super-Over] will be allocated to complete the Super-Over or any subsequent Super-Overs. The amount of extra time allocated to the Super-Over is the greater of–

A] The gap between the time at which the match ended and the time the original match would have been scheduled to finish has the entire extra time provision been utilized.

B] 20 minutes

The rule further state that should play be delayed prior to or during the Super Over[s] once the playing time exceeds the extra time allocated, the Super Over[s] shall be abandoned.

• The Super-Over shall take place on the same pitch allocated for the match unless otherwise determined by the umpires in consultation with Ground Authority and the ICC Match Referee.
• Only nominated players in the match [including activated concussion replacements] may participate in the Super-Over. Should any player be unable to continue to participate in the Super-Over due to injury, illness or other wholly acceptable reasons, the relevant Playing Conditions as they apply in the match shall also apply in the Super-Over.
• Any penalty time being served in the match shall be carried forward to the Super-Over.
• The umpires shall stand at the same end as that in which they finished the match.
• The team batting second in the match shall bat first in the Super-Over.
• The captain of the fielding team [or his nominee] shall select the ball with which the fielding team will bowl its over in the Super-Over from the box of spare balls provided by the Umpires [which shall include the balls used in the match; but no new balls]. The team fielding first in the Super-Over have the first choice of ball. The team fielding second may choose to use the same ball as chosen by the team bowling first. If the ball needs to be changed, the Playing Conditions will apply.
• The fielding side shall choose the end from which it is to bowl its one over.
• Each team’s over is played with the same fielding restrictions as applicable for the last over in a match played under the ICC Twenty20 International Playing Conditions.
• The winners of the Super Over shall be the team that scored the most runs as per normal playing conditions and irrespective of the number of wickets lost. (Clause 3). 

TIED SUPER OVER – REPEATING THE SUPER OVER PROCEDURE 

• If the Super Over is tied, then subsequent Super Overs will be played until there is a winner.
• In normal circumstances, any subsequent Super Over will start 5 minutes after the previous Super Over ends. The interval shall be 5 minutes.
• The team batting second in the previous Super Over will bat first in the subsequent Super Over.
• The balls selected for use by each team in the previous Super Over shall be used again by the same team in subsequent Super Overs.
• The fielding side must bowl its over in a subsequent Super Over from the opposite end to which it bowled from in the previous Super Over.
• Any batsman dismissed in any previous Super Over shall be ineligible to bat in the following Super Over.
• The bowler who bowled the over in the previous Super Over shall be ineligible to bowl the over in the subsequent Super Over.
• All other playing conditions will be the same as for the initial Super Over.
• In circumstances where there are unavoidable time constraints, such as, but not limited to, double-header matches which do not allow the completion of multiple Super Over(s) the Home Board may, prior to the start of the series and by notification to the participating teams, limit the number of possible Super Overs.

EXAMPLES – EXTRA TIME AVAILABLE FOR THE SUPER OVER

Example 01: The match is scheduled to finish at 10:20 pm, with 60 minutes of extra time available to be used. The scheduled cut-off time if all the extra time is used would be 11:20 pm. The match runs over time and finishes in a tie at 10:35 pm. The Super-Over is scheduled to start 5 minutes later at 10:40 pm. The extra time available to complete the Super-Over would be 40 minutes [as per Clause 5a above]

• The Super Over starts on time but is interrupted at 10.50 pm for 10 minutes (leaving 30 minutes of extra time still available).
• Play resumes at 11.00 pm with a tied Super Over occurring.
• The second super over is being played but is interrupted at 11.15 pm.
• Play does not resume within 30 minutes (being the amount of extra time still available), therefore the Super Over process is abandoned, and the match is a tie.

Example 02: The same match is scheduled to finish at 10:20 pm, but with 30 minutes of extra time available to be used. The scheduled cut-off time if all the available extra time is used would be 10:50 pm. The match runs over time and finishes in a tie at 10:35 pm. The Super-Over is scheduled to start 5 minutes later at 10:40 pm. The extra time available to complete the Super Over would be 20 minutes [as per Clause 5b]

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