Last Updated on 11 months ago by Charbel Coorey

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to make a change to the two-ball rule in ODIs. Currently, two balls are used for the entire innings, i.e. 25 at each end. With the new rule, there will be two balls used until the 34th over, with one for the remainder of the innings.

“There will be two new balls for overs 1 to 34. After over 34 is completed and prior to the start of over 35, the fielding team will choose one of the two balls to be used for overs 35 to 50,” said the ICC to its member nations, according to Cricbuzz.

“The chosen ball will be used at both ends for the remainder of the match (unless it needs to be changed). In a match reduced to 25 overs or less per side before the first innings commences, each team shall have only one new ball for its innings,” the update read.

Change to the two-ball rule in ODIs – welcome change for better battle in death overs

This is welcome news for fans who love to see more of a battle between bat and ball. Since the introduction of the two-ball rule in ODIs, playing conditions have been tilted heavily in favour of the batters. This rule change will aid reverse swing and give bowling teams more of a say in death overs.

In a CricBlog survey, 30% of the 4,700+ respondents said that only one ball can help revitalise ODI cricket. The format does need a bit of a lift in the world of T20 cricket, and this is one way some unpredictability can be brought back.

Other findings from the survey included:

• 58.47% of respondents said that limiting the number of T20 Internationals will help ODIs as more attention will be on the format.
• 38.76% said there needs to be more set windows for ODIs throughout the year.
• 36.85% called for more sporting wickets that seam and spin.

The changes to the two-ball rule in ODIs will be enforced from July 2025 onwards.