Law 4 - Ground, Weather and Light

[missingleg]

My tutor said to me last night that we should never commence play in the rain (I'm talking about light but constant drizzle here). He said if you start play in the rain then it makes it hard to be consistant in judging whether conditions are at Levels 1, 2 or 3 throughout the day.

However, we also agreed that 'light but constant drizzle' during play would fit into level 2, and therefore the captains would be asked if they wanted to continue. I didn't want to argue with him because he has an enourmous amount of experience and I have a great deal of respect for him.

However, it does seem inconsistant that we shouldn't allow play to start in the drizzle but we can let it continue if the match is underway. It's not 'unreasonable or dangerous' (level 3) to start play in the drizzle so why not ask the captains?

Would you allow play to start in the mizzle, drizzle, or light rain? Or would you always wait until it completely stops before playing?

Please offer advice with regard to Level 2 (usuitable but not dangerous).

[swerveman]

It's a very old unwritten law that you don't start play in the rain, and it works, in my opinion. If you do start play in the rain, you're making a rod for your own back. The ball will get very wet, very quickly. If the rain doesn't stop very soon, you're going to have to call it off in any case.

[missingleg]

Thanks swerveman. That would be fine if it were written in the Laws however I read this from the MCC Laws Q&A today:


'3-B Fitness of conditions for play

If there has been an interruption of play because of rain, can play be resumed while it is still
raining? Could a match be started in rain?

The major consideration for the umpires will be the condition of the surface, especially for
the bowler’s run ups and the batsmen’s footholds, but also in the outfield. Whatever their
judgment of that, it is unlikely that they would regard playing in the rain as suitable conditions.
If, however, both umpires consider that the conditions of the ground, of the weather or of the
light are neither unreasonable nor dangerous, there is no reason in Law to forbid play, even in
light rain, if both captains agree that they wish play to resume or to commence.
[Law reference: 3.8, 3.9]'

I can see that it would definately be very difficult to consider drizzle or light rain as being level 1 (suitable), but surely it can easily be considered level 2 (unsuitable but not dangerous) and so the captains should decide.

I mean, how can drizzle or light rain be considered unreasonable or dangerous? If one of our jobs is to be consistant then we should deem level 2 as being the same level 2 before AND during the match.

This is why I'm troubled by the notion that play cannot be started in light rain - I wish it were clearer so that there's cosistancy amongst umpires. The laws state that the ball being wet isn't reason enough to suspend play either.

[tippexii]

ICC rules specifically state that if the drizzle is so light that you'd play through it, you can start in it, and this is the interpretation that's used in Scotland where I umpire.

I should also say that I'm not a fan of "unwritten" rules in general. There's a difference between using common sense in situations not explicitly covered by the Laws/competition rules; and assuming that everybody's going to know, and accept something that's not written down. If people want to play by a rule that says "don't start/play in any type of rain", it's not difficult to write that into the rules for your particular competition.

[wisden17]

Yes, the common held view is that you don't start if it is raining; which quite frankly is wrong.

As tippexii points out the ICC ODI and Test rules state that if you would not come off in that sort of rain, then you start/restart in it.

The league I umpire in has an interesting rule in this regard though; "A match cannot start/restart if it is raining" in a way it takes all the argument out of it; but of course it does lead to the sometimes farcical situations of standing about in the lightest of drizzle as the sun shines and not playing. 'Tis not that popular a rule at those times!

[Number 6]

Resurrecting an old thread I know, but I haven't been around for a while and am only now catching up with this board.

Starting play in the rain is an old chestnut that has caused much anguish in the past. If it's considered possible to start play in rain then inevitably there are arguments as to what constitutes 'the right sort of rain' in which play is possible. Either the umpires disagree amongst themselves, the players disagree with the umpires or the opposing skippers disagree with each other and the umpires.

In order to avoid such complications the league in which I mainly umpire has a written rule that states 'Play must not be commenced if rain is falling'. Simples, and removes any chance of argument or bad feeling at the start of a game. I'm very much in favour of this.

[jaybee]

Generally I agree with the tone of most of the comments here, but it shouldn't be forgotten that, if you offered the teams the choice of going off (i.e. unsuitable and not unreasonable or dangerous) and conditions are no worse, the captains can jointly agree to go back on ...
... unless of course the League rules say otherwise.
There will never be anything which suits everybody 100% of the time!

[missingleg]

Number 6, I like the rule 'play must not be commenced if rain is falling'...but does that mean drizzle too?

In most cases, I would say drizzle and even light rain would put conditions in the level 2 bracket.

[Number 6]

Apr 15, 2009 11:45:21 GMT missingleg said:

Number 6, I like the rule 'play must not be commenced if rain is falling'...but does that mean drizzle too?

In most cases, I would say drizzle and even light rain would put conditions in the level 2 bracket.

I and all of my colleagues who I have had occasion to use this rule with have agreed that if you stick your hand out and it gets wet, even if only slightly then rain is falling.

Rain is defined as:

a. Water condensed from atmospheric vapor and falling in drops.
b. A fall of such water.
c. The descent of such water.

So if any particulate water is descending then it's raining, even if it's more akin to a heavy fog it's still raining and the rule applies.

[Number 6]

I just noticed this bit in your OP:

Jan 27, 2009 13:05:40 GMT missingleg said:

My tutor said to me last night that we should never commence play in the rain (I'm talking about light but constant drizzle here). He said if you start play in the rain then it makes it hard to be consistant in judging whether conditions are at Levels 1, 2 or 3 throughout the day.

.

Don't forget it's not just the fact that it's drizzling that creates level 1, 2, 3 - it's the state of the ground and whether the players risk injury by playing in such conditions.

If then you allow play to start in drizzle on one day when it's only been drizzling for 1/2 an hour and then the next week you have the same teams and the same drizzle but it's been drizzling for 3 hours constantly then the ground conditions are likely to be very different but you may get one or other of the skippers saying to you "well ump, you let us start in similar drizzle last week..."

So it's not whether or not it's drizzling but for how long has it been drizzling, how long is it likely to continue for, was the ground dry or damp to start with, etc. Too many imponderables for my liking. Far better IMHO to say'...it's raining therefore we don't start...' then there's no ambiguity and more consistency.

[Number 6]

There's another point too, at least under my league's rain rules:

Any time lost before the start of play results in overs being reduced from both sides equally. However, if rain interrupts play after play has started then the team batting first is entitled to their full allocation of overs and any reduction applies to the team batting second only.

Therefore not letting play commence if it's raining is fairer to both sides.

[missingleg]

I like your league's regulations but I'm just going to argue with reference to the Laws, as our league doesn't have much to say about Ground, Weather and Light.

I just worry that often umpires (me too once last season) are seen as too keen to leave the field/not start in drizzle. You talk about how long it's been drizzling and how long it's likely too, but maybe the Laws require us to make decisions based on the present moment (with a degree of common sense) and constantly be deciding if conditions are at levels 1,2 or 3. I suppose the theory is that way you have the best chance of getting the most amount of cricket played, which is what people and, I would hope, players like to see.

Level 2 is very often overlooked in my opinion; it allows the players (captains) to decide if they want to play rather than an umpire potemtially spoiling their afternoon - if conditions aren't unreasonable or dangerous. Once it started to rain and my colleague (without consulting me) declared 'it's raining, we're going off.' Of course, I backed him up even though my opinion would have been different; it would have looked awful otherwise. The batting team, 8 down with I think 40-odd to get in 8 overs, were both surprised and relieved. The bowling team were increasingly frustrated as the drizzle remained for an hour and a half, until the game was a 'no result'. They said they played through worse conditions. It's a shame that there isn't a clearer consensus on the 3 levels, but at least your league tries to set a benchmark.

Perhaps I am too lenient in my opinion of what makes play unsuitable or unreasonable - it's something I'll be questioning myself and working on next season.

I am playing devil's advocate a little here, but I find these discussions really helpful.

[tippexii]

Is there not a degree of inconsistency in saying that you can (presumably) play on through a small amount of rain if you're already out on the park, but that you can't start if there's even the slightest bit of moisture in the air?

Does this mean that if there's very light drizzle leading up to a drinks interval, you have to go off, because you can't restart play after drinks while the drizzle continues?

[wisden17]

Missingleg, you're right. I find it incredible how often umpires fail to actually carry out the laws in this regard, and don't use the procedure for consulting with the captains (well fielding captain and batsmen) when it's get to that unsuitable stage.

I've expressed my view above, and I think a rule "You can't start if it's raining" causes far more problems than it solves (mainly as you get the ludicrous situation where there is the lightest of drizzle, two captains who want to play, and two umpires whose hands are tied). The line I have used many a time in this situation is "Totally understand what you are saying; what I suggest you do is get your club to propse a change to the rules at the AGM" (pretty hard for teams to argue with that!).

Then again, did an evening league game once, where it rained throughout the whole game. Horrible, spent 3 hours getting soaked; just light rain throughout, was never dangerous, just mean the poor old umpires got drenched.


What I would be interested to know, to perhaps expand the discussion a bit, is how many of you have offered bad light in games?

[missingleg]

I did, only once. It was about 8:40 if I remember and very gloomy...and in light rain (I don't see why matches can't start earlier!) but the batting team, 4 down, only needed 15-or-so runs. A pretty pointless move on my part since they won in the next over!

In local cricket, maybe it's wiser not to be keen to offer the light.

In the first class game, have they not changed the regulations from the laws now, to say that the umpires alone decide when conditions are unreasonable or dangerous? The thinking behind it is that spectators get to see more cricket, and the players just have to deal with unsuitable (level 2) conditions. Afterall, sometimes the ball swings or turns in match and other times it's a batsman-friendly flat pitch - you need to adapt to the conditions.

Anyway, that's all beside the point. Here are my thoughts this moment, regarding weather:

|..............LEVEL 1.................|..............LEVEL 2...............|................LEVEL 3................|
|..............suitable.................|.............unsuitable.............|.....unreasonable/dangerous.....|

clear..........overcast..........drizzle...........light rain............raining........heavy rain.......thunder


It's easier for me to look at it as a continuum but of course each weather situation is different and it's subjective.