Cricket Australia (CA) has introduced a new rule requiring Australian players at domestic and international level to wear neck protection from October 1st. Players who do not adhere to the new regulations will be penalized according to the guidelines.

Cricket Australia will make neck guards compulsory for Australian and domestic players from October 1, meaning the likes of Steven Smith and David Warner, among others, will be forced to wear them on their helmets after a ban since their introduction in 2015 fought against it.

Cricket Australia has recommended the use of neck guards since the death of Phillip Hughes in 2014, but a number of top batsmen, including David Warner and Steve Smith, have refused to wear them. Smith has seen firsthand how he was hit on impact and suffered a concussion. He was hit by a Jofra Archer bouncer in the 2019 Lord's Test of the Ashes and was forced to miss the following match.

They will now have to wear them from October 1 when playing at home or in international cricket abroad or face sanctions under the new CA rules. “Head and neck protection is extremely important in our sport,” said Peter Roach, head of cricket and planning at CA.

Additionally, the rule does not apply to wicketkeepers, players serving in close range and those facing spinners. The decision was made following the tragic death of Phillip Hughes in 2014 during a domestic match.

Additionally, players who fail to comply with the rule, which comes into effect on October 1, will face a Code of Conduct penalty. CA's head of cricket Peter Roach stressed the importance of neck protection, adding that the decision was taken after consultation with the experts.

“Protecting the head and neck is extremely important in our sport. The neck brace product has made great strides in recent years and the decision to make them mandatory is the result of numerous advice and consultations with a wide range of experts and stakeholders,” Peter Roach was quoted as saying.

Among other things, CA confirmed that balls hitting the roof of Melbourne's Docklands Stadium will no longer be automatically scored a "six". According to the new rule in force, the on-field umpires judge whether the ball has moved according to the trajectory for six and if they conclude that it has not, it is called a dead ball.

Aside from these changes, a single five-minute window will be allowed for on-field injury assessment, with the exception of concussion assessment to expedite play. In addition, the board has decided to remove the COVID-19 replacement rule from the playing conditions for the coming season.