USA hit by first 'clock' penalty at T20 World Cup

The United States became the first team to be penalized five points under the new clock rules in their T20 World Cup defeat to India on Wednesday, but coach Stuart Law insisted it “did not affect the outcome of the match”.

The sanction was introduced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in a bid to speed up the game.

A team is penalized if, after two warnings, it still takes more than a minute between overs.

On Wednesday, the United States were penalized early in the 16th over and instead of needing 35 runs from 30 balls to reach their target of 111 runs, India’s task became 30 from 30 deliveries.

“We’ve had a few warnings in previous games, and that’s something we’re talking about to get through the overs quicker,” former Australia international Law said.

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“We are just a fledgling team. There is a lot to learn. It’s not just the cricket side of the game of cricket, but there are the other intricacies that need to be integrated. It’s a rule which has just entered.

“A lot of our players wouldn’t have heard of it before playing in the Bangladesh series or the Canada series earlier this year.”

Despite the penalty, Law said the five-point penalty would not have impacted the outcome of the Group A clash.

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India won by seven wickets with a comfortable 10 balls to spare to advance to the second round of the Super Eights.

“Five points were not going to affect the outcome of the match,” Law added.

“The players know the rule, but it’s something that if you haven’t played with it in a long time, it’s very difficult to ingrain into your brain.”

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Law said he had no problem with the new rule if it allowed for faster passages of play.

“There has to be a rhythm of play. I think if you drag out matches that should last three and a half hours, they last four and a half hours, it’s a bit too much.

“I don’t see it as a bad thing, I see it as a good thing. The game keeps moving. When the momentum is with you, you want to maintain it faster and thus put the opposition under pressure.”

Despite the defeat, the United States will still qualify for the second round with a victory, or even a no result, in their final group match against Ireland on Friday.