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CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s Joshuwa van Heerden has become the first like-for-like injury replacement under the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) new trial regulation for substitutes, introduced in domestic competitions.
Van Heerden replaced Edward Moore in a provincial four-day game at Newlands, during the second round of Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) first-class competition.
Moore suffered an injury while fielding on the second day, which ruled him out of the match.
The trial is part of an ICC initiative aimed at finding a solution for handling player injuries during a match.
Alongside South Africa, the new regulation is also being implemented in Australia’s domestic tournament Sheffield Shield and India’s Duleep Trophy and Ranji Trophy.
Unlike India, which currently permits replacements only for external injuries under strict protocols, South Africa and Australia are testing the rule for both internal and external injuries.
For internal injuries, such as Moore’s, the player is required to undergo an Ultrasound or an MRI scan, with a medical report sent to CSA’s chief medical officer and CSA’s cricket operations manager
These officials determine the seriousness of the injury and whether it’s sufficient to warrant a replacement.
If the injury is external — for example, a broken bone — the match referee can approve the substitution in consultation with stakeholders.
Notably, the injured player can only be substituted if he cannot take part in the match at all. The variations in protocols result from the different methods that countries intend to use when testing the system.
Each country will provide reports to the ICC, which may then create regulations for comparable substitutions in international cricket. As it stands, substitutions during international matches are only allowed for concussion-related issues.
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