Substitute (cricket)
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A substitute in the sport of
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
is a replacement
player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...
that the umpires allow when a player has been injured or become ill, after the nomination of the players at the start of the game. The rules for substitutes appear in Law 24 of the ''
Laws of Cricket The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code which specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744 and, since 1788, it has been owned and maintained by its custodian, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lond ...
''.


Overview

A substitute can act for the injured or ill player in the field, although they may not bowl, bat or act as captain, unless otherwise agreed by the
captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
. A player may bat, bowl and field even if he has had a substitute for part of the game, though they need to wait for a period equal to their time off the field until they bat or bowl again. Substitutes are generally not listed in the official squad list, unless they were in the starting XI for other games in the wider squad, or were the twelfth man, as some forms of cricket have 12 players listed prior to the match, at which point one player is omitted from the match squad. However, this is not required under the laws, and the substitute can be anyone, providing the umpires approve the use of a substitute. This can lead to members of the crowd, on-site media or a team's coaching staff taking the role. One example being a New Zealand journalist who was following their tour of India in 1988, taking the field.


History

The use of substitutes is known from the 18th century. In the report of a match on Monday, 5 September 1748, the role is termed a "Seeker-out"; this was in the sense that George Smith, who was carrying an injury and had been granted a substitute fielder in previous matches, was denied one in this match.Ashley-Cooper, ''At the Sign of the Wicket'', 12 April 1900, p. 52. The practice of allowing substitutes was varied and inconsistent in the 19th Century. In 1870, a match occurred between the MCC and Nottinghamshire. Substitutes were allowed early in this match but this was condemned by the press, and by the conclusion of the match they were refused. The first-ever use of a substitute in
first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...
occurred in
The University Match The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. From 2001, as part of the reorganisation of first-class cricket, ...
between
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
in 1891, when Thomas Case replaced Frederic Thesiger in the Oxford XI, after Thesiger had injured himself while fielding on the first morning of the match.


Fielding substitutes

A substitute is permitted to take catches as with any other fielder, and on some occasions does. The first occasion in
Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...
was in the Test between
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in
1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...
, when Australia's captain,
Billy Murdoch William Lloyd Murdoch (18 October 1854 – 18 February 1911) was an Australian cricketer who captained the Australian national side in 16 Test matches between 1880 and 1890. This included four tours of England, one of which, in 1882, gave ri ...
, took a catch from his teammate
Tup Scott Henry James Herbert "Tup" Scott (26 December 1858 – 23 September 1910) was an Australian cricketer who played first-class cricket for Victoria and Test cricket for Australia. He acquired his nickname during a cricket tour of England in 1884 ...
while playing as a substitute for England. The highest number of catches by a substitute fielder in a Test match is four, a record shared by
Gursharan Singh Gursharan Singh (born 8 March 1963) is a former Indian cricketer who played in one Test and one One Day International in 1990. While appearing as a substitute for Roger Binny in the Third Test against West Indies in 1983 at Ahmedabad, he b ...
,
Younis Khan Mohammad Younis Khan PP SI (Urdu: ; Pashto: ; born 29 November 1977) is a Pakistani professional cricket coach and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in all three formats of the game, and is widely regarded as ...
,
Virender Sehwag Virender Sehwag (born 20 October 1978) is a former Indian cricketer who represented India from 1999 to 2013. Widely regarded as one of the most destructive opener, he played for Delhi Capitals in IPL and Delhi and Haryana in Indian domestic c ...
, and
Jackson Bird Jackson Munro Bird (born 11 December 1986) is an Australian international cricketer. He has played for Australia in the past and currently plays first-class cricket for Tasmania. Bird is a fast-medium bowler. He is originally from Sydney and wa ...
. However, substitute fielders' catches do not count towards individual stats.


Recent changes

In recent years, there have been arguments made for cricket to allow substitutes in first-class games, as cricket forbids full substitutes for most injuries or tactical reasons. In 2019, concussion substitutes were allowed in Test matches and other international games for the first time. Arguments in favour of general substitutes have been made from a perspective of improving the game, coping with increasing injury rates due to the modern schedule, to follow the lead of other sports in trying to manage concussion more responsibly and to provide greater opportunities for players to gain experience in first-class cricket. However, there is an equally strong viewpoint that the nature of the first-class contest may be diminished with a summary suggesting that although medical experts would recommend introduction of substitutes the majority of players are still not in favour.


Restrictions on returning player

When a player leaves the ground due to injury and is replaced by a substitute fielder, they are generally not permitted to return and immediately resume bowling (or batting if their team's innings commences while they are off the field). The injured player is required to spend a period back on the field at least equal to the time that they were absent before resuming bowling, or batting should a change of innings occur. Variations of the time periods required and the circumstances of the players return to the field apply in different forms of the game.


Injured bowler

If a bowler is injured during an over and cannot complete it, another bowler must bowl the remaining deliveries. The bowler chosen to do so cannot be the bowler who bowled the previous over, and must not bowl the following over either. A substitute fielder may take the place of the injured bowler whilst they are off the field, but they may not bowl.


Tactical substitute

In 2005, the
International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
announced, as part of a package of changes to the playing conditions for
One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
s to be trialled over a ten-month period, that tactical substitutions would be permitted. Each team was to be allowed one substitute, who had to be named before
the toss In cricket, the toss is the flipping of a coin to determine which captain will have the right to choose whether their team will bat or field at the start of the match. Before play begins, the captain of each side will inspect the pitch. Base ...
was made, and could be introduced at any stage of the match. The ODI series between
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in July saw the first use of these new regulations, which did not apply to other forms of cricket such as Test matches. This change, however, was widely criticised by players, commentators, and fans. In particular, it was said to give the team that wins the toss an even greater advantage than usual. In March 2006 players and officials started to rebel against this controversial rule and a One Day International series between South Africa and Australia saw the players agree to boycott the rule. Just a few weeks later the International Cricket Council announced that the rule was being withdrawn, and it is no longer used. In the
2005 Ashes Test series The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five Tests, with the Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors. Th ...
, Australian captain
Ricky Ponting Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. Ponting was captain of the Australian national team during its "golden era", between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 20 ...
repeatedly complained that England were abusing the substitute system by bringing on specialist fielders in place of bowlers with poor fielding skills, which he argued was against the
spirit of cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
. English bowlers were frequently substituted at the end of bowling spells and temporarily replaced with fresh fielders. The England coach
Duncan Fletcher Duncan Andrew Gwynne Fletcher (born 27 September 1948) is a Zimbabwean cricket coach and former cricketer, who has coached the England and Indian national teams. He was England coach between 1999 and 2007, and is credited with the resurgence ...
argued that these substitutions were either legitimate injuries or players "answering the call of nature" (i.e. using the toilet). The issue came to a climax in the 4th Test, when Ponting was
run out Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket. A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket befo ...
by substitute Gary Pratt, causing him to angrily shout and gesticulate in the direction of the England dressing room. At the time, Pratt was on the field for bowler Simon Jones - who was nursing an ankle injury that proved to end his Test career after this match. Ponting was fined 75% of his match fee for dissent. In 2008, the International Cricket Council tightened the regulations on the use of substitutions, saying "Substitute fielders shall only be permitted in cases of injury, illness or other wholly acceptable reasons... and should not include what is commonly referred to as a 'comfort break'".


Concussion substitute

In the mid-2010s there were calls for concussion substitutes who could bat or bowl to be introduced, with increased awareness of the risks of continuing to play following a concussion. New Zealand introduced such a rule for their domestic limited-overs competitions, having had two concussion-related substitutions in 2016. The
England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and ...
introduced concussion replacements to English domestic competitions at the start of the 2018 season. The replacements can bat and bowl in place of a player with concussion or suspected concussion; match officials have to determine that the new player is a "like for like" replacement. In July 2019, the
International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
(ICC) agreed to allow the use of concussion replacements in all international cricket matches from 1 August 2019, with substitute having to be a "like-for-like replacement" and approved by the Match Referee.


ICC Playing Conditions

* 1.2.8.1 In assessing whether the nominated Concussion Replacement should be considered a like-for-like player, the ICC Match Referee should consider the likely role the concussed player would have played during the remainder of the match, and the normal role that would be performed by the nominated Concussion Replacement. * 1.2.8.2 If the ICC Match Referee believes that the inclusion of the nominated Concussion Replacement, when performing their normal role, would excessively advantage their team, the Match Referee may impose such conditions upon the identity and involvement of the Concussion Replacement as he/she sees fit, in line with the overriding objective of facilitating a like-for-like replacement for the concussed player. For example: If
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Oth ...
, a pure batsman, is injured in a Test match and Australia name
Mitchell Marsh Mitchell Ross Marsh (born 20 October 1991) is an Australian international cricketer. Marsh has represented Australia in all three forms of cricket, making his debut during the 2011–12 season. Personal life Marsh is the second son of Geoff Ma ...
, an all-rounder, as his replacement, then the match-referee has the power to restrict Marsh from bowling in the match. The rules were implemented for saving a team from having a disadvantage if one of their players suffers a concussion and is out from the match. The rules also restrict a player from taking unnecessary risks by putting their health on the line in a bid to help their team in a match. —
Geoff Allardice Geoff Allardice (born 7 May 1967) is an Australian former cricketer and administrator, who served as the CEO and General Manager of Cricket for the International Cricket Council (ICC). He was made the acting CEO in March 2021, taking the role on ...
, ICC General Manager explained before
2019 Ashes series The 2019 Ashes series (officially the Specsavers Ashes Series for sponsorship reasons) was a series of Test cricket matches played between England and Australia for The Ashes in August and September 2019. The venues were Edgbaston, Lord's, Hea ...
.


First usage

The first use of such a substitute was during the
Second Test The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
at
Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
in the 2019 Ashes series between England and Australia, when
Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...
was hit on the neck by a bouncer by
Jofra Archer Jofra Chioke Archer (born 1 April 1995) is a Barbadian-born English cricketer representing England and Sussex. He is a right-arm fast bowler. In April 2019, Archer was selected to play for the England team in limited overs fixtures against Irel ...
in the first innings. He was later diagnosed as having suffered concussion and was ruled out of the remainder of the Test.
Marnus Labuschagne Marnus Labuschagne ( or ; born 22 June 1994) is a South African born, Australian international cricketer who plays for the Australian cricket team in Tests and ODIs as a batter. He plays domestically for Queensland in Australian domestic c ...
was named as the official replacement for Smith and came to bat on the final day of the Test. On November 1, 2019,
Shabika Gajnabi Shabika Gajnabi (born 14 July 2000) is a Guyanese cricketer who plays for Guyana, Guyana Amazon Warriors and the West Indies. She plays as a right-arm medium bowler. In August 2019, she was named in the West Indies' squad for their series agai ...
became the first concussion substitute in women's cricket when she replaced
Chinelle Henry Chinelle Akhalia Henry (born 17 August 1995) is a Jamaican cricketer who plays as a right-arm medium-fast bowler and right-handed batter. In October 2018, she was named in the West Indies' squad for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournamen ...
, who was concussed after hitting the advertising boards while fielding in an ODI game against
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...


COVID-19 substitute

In June 2020, the ICC approved a rule providing that if a player was found
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
positive in the middle of a series they would be quarantined immediately, not allowed to take part in the remainder of the series, and would be replaced by a "like for like" substitute. In October 2020, in the opening round of the 2020–21 Plunket Shield season,
Benjamin Lister Benjamin Lister (9 December 1850 – 3 December 1919) was an English first-class cricketer, who played six matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1874 to 1878, and one match for the Players of the North in 1878. He also appeared in ...
became the first COVID-19 replacement in a cricket match. Lister replaced Mark Chapman, who reported feeling unwell, in line with the updated
International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
(ICC) playing conditions for a substitute due to COVID-19. In April 2022, in the second Test match between South Africa and Bangladesh,
Glenton Stuurman Glenton Stuurman (born 10 August 1992) is a South African cricketer. He made his international debut for the South Africa cricket team in February 2021. Career Stuurman was included in the South Western Districts cricket team squad for the 2016 ...
and Khaya Zondo replaced
Sarel Erwee Sarel Erwee (born 10 November 1989) is a South African professional cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler who plays for KwaZulu Natal. He was born in Pietermaritzburg. He made his international debut for the S ...
and
Wiaan Mulder Pieter Willem Adriaan Mulder (born 19 February 1998), known as Wiaan Mulder, is a South African first-class cricketer. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut for South Africa in October 2017 and his Test debut in March 2019. In domestic c ...
as COVID-19 substitutes at the start of day 4 for South Africa. As a result, Khaya Zondo made his Test debut. In June 2022,
Oshada Fernando Bodiyabaduge Oshada Piyumal Fernando, commonly as Oshada Fernando (born 15 April 1992), is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who plays all formats of the game. He plays for Chilaw Marians Cricket Club in domestic cricket, and he made his intern ...
replaced
Angelo Mathews Angelo Davis Mathews, (Tamil: அஞ்செலோ மத்தியூஸ்; born 2 June 1987) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer and a former captain in all formats. Even though he represented Sri Lanka in all three formats, Mathews cur ...
as a COVID-19 substitute for Sri Lanka during the second innings of the first test against Australia. In the second Test of the series, Fernando again replaced
Pathum Nissanka Pathum Nissanka Silva (born 18 May 1998) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who plays for Sri Lanka in all three formats of the game. He made his international debut for the Sri Lanka cricket team in March 2021 and currently slotted as the pe ...
as a COVID-19 substitute for Sri Lanka.


References


Bibliography

* {{Cricket positions Cricket laws and regulations Fielding (cricket) Batting (cricket) Cricket terminology