South Africa’s Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis welcomed the new cricket rule which allows free hits for all kinds of no-balls in limited-over games.
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The new rule will come in effect today when South Africa play Bangladesh in the first of the two Twenty20 internationals at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Besides the no-ball rule, the International Cricket Council last month approved several changes in one-day and Twenty20 formats, including restrictions on batting powerplay and field placements.
Only the free-hit rule will apply in the Twenty20 game. Previously a free-hit was given only for a no-ball resulting from a bowler’s foot fault. Du Plessis said the rule would discourage bowlers from throwing down beamers which he believed could change the games completely in the crucial last overs.
“I think it’s a good rule,” du Plessis said at a news conference in Dhaka on the eve of the game. “Games (are) won and lost when guys bowl beamers. Obviously when that rules comes in, it will make a huge difference,” he said.
Du Plessis said he was happy to kick off the Bangladesh tour with Twenty20 matches that mark the start of a long season for South Africa leading up to ICC World Twenty20 in India in March 2016. Before the World Twenty20, the Proteas will host New Zealand and England followed by an away series in India.
Du Plessis’s counterpart Mashrafe Mortaza said Bangladesh was not thinking ahead too much but focusing on the challenges at hand. “There is plenty of time left for the (World T20) tournament. I don’t see any reason for us to think about World Twenty20 before playing these matches,” he said.
