USA hit by first-ever ‘stop-clock’ penalty against India

The United States of America (USA) became the first team to be penalised five runs under the new stop-clock rules in their T20 World Cup 2024 loss to India on Wednesday but coach Stuart Law insisted it “did not affect the outcome of the game”.

The sanction has been introduced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in an effort to speed up play. A team is penalised if after two warnings they still take more than a minute between overs.

On Wednesday, the USA were penalised at the start of the 16th over and instead of needing 35 runs off 30 balls to reach their 111-run target, India’s task became 30 off 30 deliveries instead.

“We had a few warnings in earlier games, and it’s something we do talk about to get through faster between the overs,” said former Australian international Law.

“We’re only a fledgling team. There’s plenty to learn. There’s not just the cricket aspect of the game of cricket, but there’s also the other intricacies that need to be embedded. It’s a rule that’s only just come in.

“A lot of our players wouldn’t have heard about it before we played in the Bangladesh series or the Canada series earlier this year.”

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Despite the penalty, Law said the five-run sanction would not have impacted the outcome of the Group A clash.

India won by seven wickets with a comfortable 10 balls to spare to qualify for the second round Super Eights.

“Five runs wasn’t going to affect the outcome of the game,” added Law. “The players know the rule, but it’s something that if you haven’t played with it for a long time, it’s very difficult to have it embedded in your brain.”

Law said he has no issue with the new regulation if it helps speed up passages of play.

“There needs to be a pace of play. I think if you’re dragging games out that should last three and a half hours, they’re going for four and a half hours, that’s a bit much.

“I don’t see it as a bad thing, I see it as a good thing. The game continues to move. When momentum is with you, you want to keep that momentum running quicker and put the opposition under pressure that way.”

Despite the defeat, the United States will still qualify for the second round with a win or even a no-result in their final group game against Ireland on Friday.

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