The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has introduced 73 amendments to the Laws of Cricket, with several changes aimed at tightening technical loopholes and giving fielding sides greater influence.

The revised laws came into effect on Oct 1, with changes covering dismissals, catches, wides, wicketkeeping and dead-ball rules.

Under the new rules, a wicket on the final ball of a day’s play will no longer automatically end the session. The incoming batter must face the remaining deliveries of the over.

Fielders will also no longer be allowed to complete a boundary catch using the controversial “bunny-hop” technique. A fielder must remain grounded inside the boundary after first making contact with the ball for the catch to be valid.

A delivery passing above a batter’s head will now be called a wide rather than a no-ball, aligning the written laws with professional playing conditions.

The MCC has also changed ball terminology, replacing traditional gender- and age-based classifications with Size 1, Size 2 and Size 3.

Wicketkeepers will have greater flexibility during the bowler’s run-up, while the rules governing hit-wicket dismissals and dead balls have also been clarified.

Under the revised laws, a batter who falls onto the stumps after losing balance while playing a shot can be dismissed hit wicket. A ball can also be considered dead if it is held by any fielder or comes to rest on the ground, rather than only when held by the bowler or wicketkeeper.

The amendments also clarify deliberate short runs. Batters may return to their original crease if they change their minds during a run, but penalty runs will apply if umpires determine that a short run was deliberate.

The fielding captain will also be able to decide which batter takes strike for the next delivery in such situations.

The MCC has launched a smartphone app containing the revised laws in English, Hindi and Urdu, with Kannada and Bangla versions to follow.