Is it time for injury replacements in Test cricket?

Is it time for cricket to make a change and allow teams to replace injured players?Zimbabwe were already struggling on day one of the one-off Test against England at Trent Bridge when frontline bowler Richard Ngarava had to be helped from the field with a back injury.That left the tourists potentially a bowler and batter short - effectively playing with 10 men because while an injured player can be replaced in the field, the replacement cannot bat or bowl.Ngarava briefly returned to field later in the day but was unable to bowl because of how long he had spent off the field, and looked in discomfort before once again heading for the changing rooms.BBC Sport looks at the current laws, when cricket has dabbled with substitutes in the past and asks the Test Match Special team whether it is time for subs to be brought in...
What do the Laws of Cricket say?
Cricket's Laws, set out by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), state the umpires can allow a substitute if a player "has been injured or become ill and that this occurred during the match" or for "any other wholly acceptable reason"."A substitute shall not bowl or act as captain but may act as wicketkeeper only with the consent of the umpires," the Law adds.The exception comes if a player suffers a concussion.Replacements for concussion have been allowed since 2019 - Australia's Marnus Labuschagne famously became the first concussion sub in Test cricket when replacing Steve Smith in the Ashes - and are able to bat and bowl.Covid-19 replacements were brought in after the pandemic but have since been scrapped.
How often have injuries impacted matches?
There are numerous occasions when injuries have impacted matches.England effectively played the entire first Test of the 2019 Ashes at Edgbaston with 10 players after James Anderson injured his calf four overs into day one.In 2023, Australia spinner Nathan Lyon limped out of the second Test at Lord's on day two with a calf injury.There have been famous examples of players battling on through injury which has added to the spectacle.Colin Cowdrey batted with a broken arm in saving a Test for England against West Indies in 1963, while South Africa captain Graeme Smith bravely emerged with a broken hand in an attempt to save the Sydney Test against Australia in 2009.
When has cricket used substitutes?
Substitutes are not totally unheard of in cricket.Supersubs were introduced to one-day internationals in 2005 – England's Vikram Solanki was the first in a match at Headingley against Australia – but were scrapped in 2006.The Indian Premier League currently has its impact player rule which allows teams to swap in one of four named substitutes during a match, while Australia's Big Bash had a similar X-Factor player rule between 2020 and 2022.Those rules were all largely for tactical purposes, however, rather than injury, and were in T20 cricket not the longest format.
What do the experts think?
Former England captain Michael VaughanInjury replacements should be permitted in Test cricket in the first innings of the game. There should be an independent doctor on site. If the doctor deems a player unable to carry on playing, you should be allowed a sub.It should only be in the first innings. If you allow it to go into the second innings, there could be a little bit of skullduggery. If there's a genuine injury in the first innings, it affects the game and the entertainment, which fans pay money to watch. The first innings is a good cut-off to make it fair.BBC chief cricket commentator and former England bowler Jonathan AgnewI have seen a number of Tests ruined because a team is a player down. How do you prove it? It's another example of where there could be argument. It is something that is so difficult to prove.Common sense says yes, of course, but you need a satisfactory way of showing beyond doubt that the player is genuinely injured. I think that would be open to all sorts of arguments.Former England off-spinner Vic MarksIt's well worth considering. It would take a bit of administrating, just to make sure the injury is absolutely genuine. You wouldn't want to see anyone have the opportunity to fake injuries in order to change the nature of a team because of conditions or lack of form.We had it in rugby where fake blood was spilt, so we want to avoid that. You need that proviso to make sure the system isn't abused, but it is something that should be examined.Former Zimbabwe seamer Henry OlongaI'm open to the idea of substitutes, perhaps with a limited number, but not necessarily like-for-like and not only restricted to injuries. If you want to grow the game globally, then make it more like other sports where subs are allowed.Think of football, tactically if a game is going in a certain way, substitutes can be used to tweak the direction. If a fast bowler is going for a few runs, why not replace them with a spinner? I don't think it will be a popular opinion, but I am sticking to it.TMS commentator Alison MitchellYes, it should be looked into, but someone has to come up with a system where the system cannot be abused. We already have like-for-like substitutes if a player is concussed, so surely it should be brought in for other injuries.Otherwise, you can end up with the situation like we may have with Zimbabwe in this Test. Then it just makes it a one-sided contest. If an injured player can't take any further part in a match, we have to find a way of keeping the contest going.
TMS commentator Simon MannI've long thought it in an anomaly you can't have a substitution in Test cricket. Every other sport has it. Why not in cricket?I can understand the problem of verifying an injury, but perhaps a halfway house would be to permit a replacement for a clearly injured player in the first two days of a Test.BBC Sport chief cricket reporter Stephan ShemiltAs plenty have highlighted, any idea of injury replacements comes with the potential for the system to be abused. Therefore, I don't think there can be a halfway house. If a replacement is permitted, then allow them for tactical reasons, too.I'd say that a 12th player can be named before the toss and that player can be introduced for tactical reasons or an injury. Just one, though. That would add a layer of intrigue. What sort of player do you pick? When do you use them? If you make a tactical move, you leave yourself exposed to an injury later on. Can a team correctly assess the conditions in order to tactically maximise the introduction of the replacement?One of the great beauties of cricket is 11 in a team is never enough. You almost always want to squeeze another batter or bowler in there. To me, simply allowing injury replacements will lead to problems down the road. Either allow a replacement for all reasons, or not at all.
What do you think?

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Telegraph

37 minutes ago

• Telegraph

Live England vs India, first Test: Score and latest updates from day four

10:38AM Listen: Sir Geoffrey Boycott's preview 10:38AM Thoran agogo Greetings from Headingley, where the sun is trying to poke through, but the heatwave is over. The weather generally is chillier, cloudier, and windier than the last week, and there was a decent dump of rain overnight. It means a first run-out for the sweater I packed for the trip. England won't mind that as they look to take eight Indian wickets sharpish. Pleasant evening for Team Telegraph last night, having some Keralan cuisine at Uyare, the new sister restaurant of Tharavadu, which has been a favourite of ours for years. Comes highly recommended! It was a bit quieter walking into the ground this morning. The first three days were sold out but the working week and the Bazballers are not good for day four ticket sales. Expecting to be around two-thirds full, but maybe we will get a few walk-ups. 10:33AM Good day to bowl Welcome to Leeds on a much cooler and cloudier morning , the stifling heat of the first two days a thing of the past. Good bowling day in other words, and plenty in the pitch for a spinner too by way of turn and uneven bounce. A draw very unlikely if no rain. 10:29AM Day four: What can England chase? Good morning and welcome to day four of the first Test between England and India which begins with the touring side 96 runs ahead with their captain, Shubman Gill, and most experienced top-order batsman, KL Rahul, at the crease with eight wickets left. After another sensational day of cricket in Leeds, truly the greatest ground for drama and knife-edge Tests, England cannily fought their way to near parity with some jaw-dropping counter-attacking and clever, relentless strike rotation. Those who see 'Bazball' as purely slogging ought to watch Chris Woakes' innings from yesterday. Shoaib Bashir has a vital role to play today. The cracks that caused three deliveries to take off alarmingly and fly for four byes on Sunday are too far outside the right-handers' off-stump to be used effectively but there was turn for Ravindra Jadeja and there ought to be plenty of rough on both sides given how many overs were bowled round the wicket on days one, two and three. Of course, on the principle of what's good for the goose Jadeja himself could make hay tomorrow from one end to back up the incomparable Jasprit Bumrah and given how poorly England have played spin on turning tracks on their last visits to Pakistan and India, their confidence in chasing 300 ought to be tempered. This side have shifted the historical parameters of possibility in fourth-innings chases over the past three years but there's no Jonny Bairstow here and Ben Stokes, back to bowling near his best, continues to look badly out of nick with the bat, as if he's over-thinking his approach. India are marginally favourites, 11/10 compared with England's 13/10 but it's a breezy, cloudy, cool day in Leeds and while the rain has stopped there were showers earlier this morning. Ideal conditions to bowl seam up.

The Guardian

an hour ago

• The Guardian

Ibrahima Konaté disappointed with Liverpool contract offer as talks stall

Ibrahima Konaté is stalling on signing a new deal at Liverpool, raising fears at the club that another key player could run down his contract after this summer's departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The French defender enters the final year of his deal next month and is understood to have rejected Liverpool's initial offer of an extension. Konaté's contract talks were delayed by Liverpool's focus on negotiating with Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk last season, with both signing new two-year deals in April before re-signing the Dutchman's defensive partner became the club's priority. The 26-year-old is understood to be disappointed by the structure of Liverpool's offer, with his representatives believed to be pushing for a higher basic wage after the offer was heavily based on meeting certain performance targets. Failure to agree a new contract with Konaté before the end of the summer would leave Liverpool with a dilemma given the furore over Alexander-Arnold's move to Real Madrid. Although Liverpool eventually banked £10m for Alexander-Arnold because of Madrid's determination to sign him in time to play at the Club World Cup that fee is a fraction of his value. Andy Robertson is also about to enter the final 12 months of his contract, with Liverpool willing to sell him to Atlético Madrid if the left-back wants to leave. The goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher joined Brentford in an £18m deal this month with one year left on his contract. Liverpool plan to revive discussions with Konaté later in the summer but are adamant they will not be forced into overpaying. After a busy start to the transfer window during which Liverpool have done deals worth a combined £145.5m for Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, Arne Slot's central defensive options are the one remaining area of uncertainty. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Football Daily Free daily newsletter Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Jarell Quansah is on the verge of completing a £35m move to Bayer Leverkusen, and Liverpool are monitoring Marc Guéhi's situation at Crystal Palace, with Newcastle and Tottenham also interested in the England international. As the Guardian reported, the 24-year-old has made clear he will not sign a new contract at Selhurst Park, and with 12 months left he is eager to secure a move to a club that can offer guaranteed playing time before next summer's World Cup.

The Sun

an hour ago

• The Sun

Abandoned EFL stadium left to rot with pitch covered in weeds just five years after hosting final match

A FORMER EFL stadium has been left covered in weeds after being abandoned five years ago. Boston United played their final game at York Street in 2020, as they moved to the newly built Jakemans Community Stadium. 3 3 3 The stadium was first opened in 1933, as football had been played on the site since the late 1800s. The ground was initially known as Shodfiriars Lane and hosted several clubs from Boston. The Pilgrims made it their official home in 1933 as they became the only team to play there. York Street was rebuilt in the 1970s with a capacity of over 6,500 with new terracing, stands, floodlights, toilets and turnstiles. The Town End Terrace was also redeveloped with an estimated cost of £200,000 - raised by the local community. This was done after inspectors deemed it unsuitable for the Football League. Derby County in the FA Cup in 1974. Boston had managed to hold the Rams to a 0-0 draw in the original tie but lost the replay at home 6-1. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS There are also ten more matches on record that saw the number of fans surpass 8,000. The stadium featured in the EFL after Boston's promotion in 2002, when they reached the third division. The league became League Two in the 2004/05 season. York Street's stay in the EFL would end with the Pilgrims' relegation from the EFL in 2007. Boston had run into financial issues and were deducted 10 points for failing to pay creditors. The club was dropped into the sixth tier and have since played across the non-league divisions. The stadium was used for much more than just football during its heyday. In the 1930s, it hosted greyhound racing, which occurred around the pitch. It was a popular event as over 1,000 fans attended the first organised meeting. The track was closed during World War II and was never reopened. The ground is now derelict after it was abandoned as can be seen in a picture shared on social media. The snap shows the pitch has become overgrown with weeds and is looking worse for wear. The stadium was put up for sale in 2022 with a price tag of £5million. That figure has now been slashed by £3m, according to Poyntons Consultancy. The consultancy firm has claimed it would be "suitable for retail warehousing".