Top 10 changes in cricket in the past decade

#9. Demerit Points

Demerit points were introduced to bring down incidents of confrontation in cricket

Cricket has always been known as the gentleman's game. On the playing field, players are always expected to uphold the spirit of the game and yet not compromise on the competitiveness. However, with the passage of time, as cricket has gotten more and more competitive, there's been a surge in the number of incidents involving altercations between players, undue aggression, and lack of respect for umpires and officials.

To arrest this rising trend, the ICC introduced a 'demerit points system' in September 2016. It supplements the ICC code of conduct by classifying on-field offenses into major and minor categories and associating demerit points with them. Over a two-year period, if a player accumulates 4 demerit points or more, it could result in his suspension.

The ICC further strengthened the system in October 2017 when it introduced red cards. These red cards were to be used by umpires to send off players if they threatened them, physically assaulted a player/umpire/spectator, or indulged in any other act of violence. Thankfully, however, no red cards have been issued in cricket till date.