Preamble (The Spirit of Cricket)

Section 2 According to the Laws the umpires are the sole judges of fair and
unfair play. The umpires may intervene at any time and it is the responsibility of the captain to take action where required.

Section 3 The umpires are authorised to intervene in cases of:

• Time wasting
• Damaging the pitch
• Tampering with the ball

Section 4 The Spirit of the Game involves RESPECT for:

• Your opponents
• Your own captain and team
• The role of the umpires

Section 5 It is against the Spirit of the Game:

• To dispute an umpire's decision by word, action or gesture

Law 1 (The Players)

Section 4 The captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within the spirit and traditions of the game as well as
within the Laws.

Law 2 (Substitutes, Runners and Leaving The Field)

Section 5 If a fielder fails to take the field with his side at the start of the match or at any later time, or leaves the field during a session of
play,
(a) the umpire shall be informed of the reason for his absence.
(b) he shall not thereafter come on to the field during a session of
play without the consent of the umpire. See 6 below. The
umpire shall give such consent as soon as is practicable.
(c) if he is absent for 15 minutes or longer, he shall not be
permitted to bowl thereafter, subject to (i), (ii) or (iii) below,
until he has been on the field for at least that length of playing
time for which he was absent.
(i) Absence or penalty for time absent shall not be carried
over into a new day's play.
(ii) If, in the case of a follow-on or forfeiture, a side fields for
two consecutive innings, this restriction shall, subject to (i)
above, continue as necessary into the second innings but
shall not otherwise be carried over into a new innings.
(iii) The time lost for an unscheduled break in play shall be
counted as time on the field for any fielder who comes on
to the field at the resumption of play.

Law 3 (The Umpires)

Section 6 Before the toss and during the match, the umpires shall satisfy themselves that(a) the conduct of the game is strictly in accordance with the Laws. (b) the implements of the game conform to the requirements of Laws 5 (The ball) and...

Section 7 The umpires shall be the sole judges of fair and unfair play.

Section 10 The umpires shall have the discretion to implement the procedures of 9 [dealing with suspension of play for bad light, weather or ground conditions] above for reasons other than ground, weather or light if they consider that exceptional circumstances warrant it.

Section 13 All disputes shall be determined by the umpires. The umpires shall consult with each other whenever necessary. See also Law 27.6 (Consultation by umpires).

Law 5 (The Ball)

Section 2 (a) All balls to be used in the match, having been approved by the umpires and captains, shall be in the possession of the umpires before the toss and shall remain under their control
throughout the match.
(b) The umpire shall take possession of the ball in use at the fall
of each wicket, at the start of any interval and at any
interruption of play.

Section 5 If, during play, the ball cannot be found or recovered or the umpires agree that it has become unfit for play through normal use, the umpires shall replace it with a ball which has had wear comparable with that which the previous ball had received before the need for its replacement. When the ball is replaced the
umpires shall inform the batsmen and the fielding captain.

Law 18 (Scoring Runs)

Section 6 Runs shall be scored for penalties under 5 above and Laws 2.6 (Player returning without permission), 24 (No ball), 25 (Wide ball), 41.2 (Fielding the ball), 41.3 (Protective helmets belonging to the fielding side) and 42 (Fair and unfair play).

Law 21 (The Result)

Section 3 (a) A match shall be lost by a side which
either (i) concedes defeat or (ii) in the opinion of the umpires refuses to play and the umpires shall award the match to the other side.

(b) If an umpire considers that an action by any player or players
might constitute a refusal by either side to play then the
umpires together shall ascertain the cause of the action. If they
then decide together that this action does constitute a refusal
to play by one side, they shall so inform the captain of that
side. If the captain persists in the action the umpires shall
award the match in accordance with (a)(ii) above.

(c) If action as in (b) above takes place after play has started and does not constitute a refusal to play.

(i) playing time lost shall be counted from the start of the
action until play recommences, subject to Law 15.5
(Changing agreed times for intervals).

(ii) the time for close of play on that day shall be extended by
this length of time, subject to Law 3.9 (Suspension of play
for adverse conditions of ground, weather or light).

(iii) if applicable, no overs shall be deducted during the last
hour of the match solely on account of this time.

Section 10 Once the umpires have agreed with the scorers the correctness of the scores at the conclusion of the match – see Laws 3.15 (Correctness of scores) and 4.2 (Correctness of scores) – the result cannot thereafter be changed.

Law 42 (Fair and Unfair Play)

Section 1 The responsibility lies with the captains for ensuring that play is conducted within the spirit and traditions of the game, asdescribed in The Preamble – The Spirit of Cricket, as well as within the Laws.

Section 2 The umpires shall be the sole judges of fair and unfair play. If
either umpire considers an action, not covered by the Laws, to be
unfair, he shall intervene without appeal and, if the ball is in play,
shall call and signal Dead ball and implement the procedure as
set out in 18 below. Otherwise the umpires shall not interfere with
the progress of play, except as required to do so by the Laws.

Section 3 b) It is unfair for anyone to rub the ball on the ground for any
reason, interfere with any of the seams or the surface of the
ball, use any implement, or take any other action whatsoever
which is likely to alter the condition of the ball, except as
permitted in (a) above.

(c) The umpires shall make frequent and irregular inspections of
the ball.

(d) In the event of any fielder changing the condition of the ball
unfairly, as set out in (b) above, the umpires after consultation
shall:

(i) change the ball forthwith. It shall be for the umpires to
decide on the replacement ball, which shall, in their
opinion, have had wear comparable with that which the
previous ball had received immediately prior to the
contravention.

(ii) inform the batsmen that the ball has been changed.

(iii) award 5 penalty runs to the batting side. See 17 below.

(iv) inform the captain of the fielding side that the reason for
the action was the unfair interference with the ball.

(v) inform the captain of the batting side as soon as
practicable of what has occurred.

(vi) report the occurrence as soon as possible to the Executive
of the fielding side and any Governing Body responsible
for the match, who shall take such action as is considered
appropriate against the captain and team concerned.

(e) If there is any further instance of unfairly changing the
condition of the ball in that innings, the umpires after
consultation shall:

(i) repeat the procedure in (d)(i), (ii) and (iii) above.

(ii) inform the captain of the fielding side of the reason for the
action taken and direct him to take off forthwith the bowler
who delivered the immediately preceding ball. The bowler
thus taken off shall not be allowed to bowl again in that
innings.

(iii) inform the captain of the batting side as soon as
practicable of what has occurred.

(iv) report this further occurrence as soon as possible to the
Executive of the fielding side and any Governing Body
responsible for the match, who shall take such action as is
considered appropriate against the captain and team
concerned.

Section 9 It is unfair for any member of the fielding side to waste time.

(a) If the captain of the fielding side wastes time, or allows any
member of his side to waste time, or if the progress of an over
is unnecessarily slow, at the first instance the umpire shall call
and signal Dead ball if necessary and:

(i) warn the captain, and indicate that this is a first and final
warning.

(ii) inform the other umpire and the batsmen of what has
occurred.

(b) If there is any further waste of time in that innings, by any
member of the fielding side, the umpire shall
either:
(i) if the waste of time is not during the course of an
over, award 5 penalty runs to the batting side. See
17 below.

or (ii) if the waste of time is during the course of an over,
when the ball is dead, direct the captain to take the
bowler off forthwith. If applicable, the over shall be
completed by another bowler, who shall neither
have bowled the previous over nor be allowed to
bowl the next over.
The bowler thus taken off shall not be allowed to
bowl again in that innings.

(iii) inform the other umpire, the batsmen and, as soon as
practicable, the captain of the batting side of what has
occurred.

(iv) report the occurrence, with the other umpire, as soon as
possible to the Executive of the fielding side and to any
Governing Body responsible for the match, who shall take
such action as is considered appropriate against the
captain and team concerned.

Section 17 (a) When penalty runs are awarded to either side, when the ball
is dead the umpire shall signal the penalty runs to the scorers
as laid down in Law 3.14 (Signals).

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Law 21.6 (Winning hit or
extras), penalty runs shall be awarded in each case where the
Laws require the award. Note, however, that the restrictions
on awarding penalty runs in Laws 26.3 (Leg byes not to be
awarded), 34.4(d) (Runs permitted from ball struck lawfully
more than once) and Law 41.4 (Penalty runs not to be
awarded) will apply.

Section 18 If there is any breach of the Spirit of the Game by a player failing to comply with the instructions of an umpire, or criticising his decisions by word or action, or showing dissent, or generally behaving in a manner which might bring the game into disrepute, the umpire concerned shall immediately report the matter to the other umpire.

The umpires together shall:

(i) inform the player's captain of the occurrence, instructing the
latter to take action.

(ii) warn him of the gravity of the offence, and tell him that it
will be reported to higher authority.

(iii) report the occurrence as soon as possible to the Executive
of the player's team and any Governing Body responsible
for the match, who shall take such action as is considered
appropriate against the captain and player or players, and,
if appropriate, the team concerned.

Appendix D (Glossary)

Umpires together agree applies to decisions which the umpires are to make jointly, independently of the players.

Fielder is any one of those 11 or fewer players currently on the field of play who together compose the fielding side. This definition includes not only both the bowler and the wicket-keeper but also any legitimate substitute fielding instead of a nominated player. It excludes any nominated player absent from the field of play, or who has been absent from the field of play and who has not obtained the umpire's permission to return.