Cricket Australia (CA) will trial a new injury substitution system during the first five rounds of the upcoming Sheffield Shield season. The system is designed to give both teams tactical flexibility while maintaining a fair contest.
Under the proposed rule, if a player suffers an injury or illness after the toss, the team can request a like-for-like replacement—such as a batter for a batter or a fast bowler for a fast bowler—subject to approval by the match referee. This differs from existing systems, like India’s, which only allow substitutions for injuries sustained during play.
Cricket Australia: What makes Australia’s approach unique is its “tactical twist”: if one side makes an injury substitution, the opposing team may be permitted to bring in a tactical replacement of the same player type by the end of day two.
Cricket Australia: Opposition teams are allowed to make a tactical substitution in response to an injury substitution made by the other side.
For example, if Team A replaces a fast bowler due to injury, Team B may also substitute a fast bowler in return. However, they cannot swap in a batter or spinner purely for strategic advantage. Match officials can also impose limits on a substitute’s role, such as preventing them from bowling if the player they replace had not bowled.
Cricket Australia: Additionally, any player who is substituted out must serve a mandatory 12-day “non-playing” period starting from the second day of that match. To manage squad logistics, teams are still restricted to 12 travelling players (13 for Western Australia). If the designated 12th man is not a suitable replacement, an extra player may be flown in within the first two days of an away game.
All matches under this trial will retain first-class status. Cricket Australia (CA) will collect feedback from state associations before deciding on possible extensions or adjustments for rounds six and seven.
This initiative reflects Australia’s increasing willingness to modernise long-form cricket. If successful, it could establish a fairer system for introducing injury substitutions at the Test level, balancing player welfare with the integrity of the game.
