ICC Introduces Stop Clock In Tests For 2025–27 WTC Cycle

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rolled out updated playing conditions for the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, including the introduction of a stop clock to tackle slow over rates and a new regulation allowing fielding teams to choose which batter faces the next delivery in cases of intentional short runs.

These changes came into effect at the beginning of the new WTC cycle, starting with the two-Test series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Galle. According to the ICC's official Test playing conditions, the stop clock-already used in white-ball formats-has now been incorporated into Test cricket to curb unnecessary delays between overs.

"The fielding side shall be ready to start each over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed. An electronic clock will be displayed on the ground that counts up seconds from zero to 60," the ICC confirmed.

Teams will receive two warnings for slow transitions between overs. If a third delay occurs, the batting side will be awarded five penalty runs. However, the ICC also stated that these warnings will be wiped clean after the 80th over of an innings.

Additionally, ESPNCricinfo reported that the ICC no longer obliges umpires to replace a ball found with traces of saliva, as the ban on using saliva to shine the ball remains in place. The concern stemmed from suggestions that some teams might deliberately apply saliva to force a ball change, though current Test playing conditions do not explicitly mention any revised protocol on this issue.

Another update addresses referrals involving players and umpires. The ICC clarified that if both a player and an umpire make referrals at the same time, "the process will follow the chronological order of their occurrences."

These revisions aim to modernize the flow of the game while maintaining fairness and clarity in decision-making processes during Test matches.