Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Anthony McGrath has been speaking about the injury, illness and other significant life events substitution trial for this season’s Rothesay County Championship.
Anthony McGrath has welcomed the introduction of replacement players for injury, illness and significant life events in this season’s Rothesay County Championship.
Yorkshire’s men’s head coach has been speaking about a trial which was confirmed by the ECB yesterday and follows similar instances in countries such as Australia, India and South Africa.
Concussion substitutes have been permitted in county cricket since 2018, while Coronavirus subs followed a couple of years later.
The trials around the world have come at the request of the ICC, with the ECB’s operations manager Alan Fordham saying they wanted to do something different to other countries. And that comes via the significant life events element.
He said that in previous seasons, “three or four” requests had been made – and rejected – for substitutions because of child birth. Now they will be permitted. Family deaths is another such circumstance.
There is no limit with regards to the number of substitutions allowed in a single game, nor is there a cut-off period.
Players must be like for like and ratified by the match referee.
The trial will not extend to any other competition, men’s or women’s.
To avoid any exploitation, any injured or ill player will be ineligible for selection for the next eight days of county cricket, including the limited overs competitions but not The Hundred.
Players subbed out of a game will not be able to return to it.
McGrath said: “I think it’s a brilliant decision.
“I think it’s a logical, common sense one, and it should have come in a lot earlier.
“Most teams now travel with 13 or 14 players, so it just probably adds to that bit where you’re going to have to take a batter and a bowler, and maybe a spinner, with you just in case anything happens.
“I think it’s been welcomed throughout the game as a very good decision.
“If someone’s genuinely injured or someone’s having a birth, then it makes sense to not spoil the game.
“I’ve seen games where teams have gone down to 10 or even nine men, not through fault of their own, and the game’s spoilt really. No-one wants to see that within the ground – press, players, coaches. So I think, for those circumstances, being able to bring in a replacement makes a lot of sense.”
Last July, Yorkshire captain Jonny Bairstow left the Championship draw with Surrey at Scarborough ahead of the final day due to the birth of his second child. Harry Duke came in and kept wicket but was not allowed to bat. If the same thing happened this season, he would be allowed to bat.
Based on statistics from other trials, a substitution is expected to occur at least once during this weekend’s opening round – across all matches.