No red cards, but two new signals for umps

It's not quite as dramatic as a football referee's issuing of a red card, but cricket umpires will have to add two completely new signals to their repertoire after the Marylebone Cricket Club announced how send-offs are to be communicated.

The traditional guardians of the Laws of Cricket have released further details on the first update to the game's Code of Laws since 2000.

The new Code gives umpires significantly more power in dealing with poor player behaviour.

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Four levels with differing severity for offences have been laid out as guidelines for on-field officials, ranging from excessive appealing and dissent at the lower end of the scale, to physical violence at the highest end.

Once the new Code comes into effect in October, on-field officials will have the power to send misbehaving players from the field, either temporarily or permanently, and award penalty runs to the opposition.

And according to the MCC, umpires will have two brand-new signals to indicate a player has been sent off.

When a player is being sent from the field – either permanently or temporarily – umpires must put an arm out to the side of their body and repeatedly raise and lower it.

If the player is being sent off permanently, classed as a 'level four' sanction which is harshest penalty in the umpires' new powers, the official will point their index finger and hold their arm outstretched to the side of their body.

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If the player is being sent off only temporarily, classed as a 'level three' sanction, the umpire will follow the first gesture by raising both hands with all fingers spread to shoulder height with their palms facing the scorers.

Five penalty runs will be awarded to the opposition for both level three and level four sanctions.

The signal for penalty runs, where the umpire repeatedly taps their shoulder, remains the same.

Under the new regulations, umpires will inform the player's captain of the penalty and will ask the skipper to "remove the offending player from the field".

Should the captain not comply, the umpires may call the game and declare the opposition side as the winners. If both captains refuse to comply, the match can be abandoned.

Cricket Australia’s Playing Conditions Advisory Committee will meet in the coming weeks to discuss the MCC’s new Code of Laws.

"The MCC has left no stone unturned in researching and redrafting the new Laws of Cricket and has done so in order to make the Laws work in a way that makes sense to players, umpires and spectators," MCC laws manager Fraser Stewart explained.

"The Laws are applicable worldwide so they need to be as simple as possible to understand and inclusive to all.

"The Club hopes to encourage interest in the game at all levels and believes these new Laws are reflective of the present time and easier for cricketers and umpires to interpret."