Marnus Labuschagne. (Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images)
After much deliberation from the members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the think tank has officially decided to abolish the use of the soft signal rule in the international matches. Notably, the decision will come into effect from the forthcoming ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 Final, scheduled to start on June 7 at the Oval in London.
The rule was approved by the Sourav Ganguly-headed committee and has been conveyed to the finalists of the WTC- India and Australia. In January, during a Test match between Australia and South Africa, the soft signal rule garnered massive attention over Marnus Labuschagne’s dismissal.
Speaking briefly, South Africa’s Simon Harmer took a low catch and the on-field umpire deemed the soft signal as ‘out’. However, upon multiple replays, third umpire Richard Kettleborough overturned the decision and called it ‘not out’, without any conclusive evidence.
“Soft Signal is the visual communication by the bowler’s end umpire to the third umpire (accompanied by additional information via two-way radio where necessary) of his/her initial on-field decision prior to initiating an Umpire Review. If the third umpire advises that the replay evidence is inconclusive, the on-field decision communicated at the start of the consultation process shall stand,” the ICC rule states.
This essentially means that the soft signal forces the on-field umpire to make a decision (even if he is not sure), before communicating with the third umpire. Moreover, if and only if there is conclusive evidence, the third umpire can overturn the decision and they will have the final say on doubtful catches.
ICC introduces two other changes
Apart from the major change in the on-field decision making, the apex council has decided that the flood lights at the venue can be switched on during the game in case of poor natural light. In addition to this, the ICC also decided that the one-off Test matches played between teams, will now have a reserve day (sixth) in place for the game to conclude.