The importance of drafting clear sports rules: analysing cricket’s ‘overthrow rule’ that decided the 2019 ODI World Cup
With England and New Zealand having recently concluded yet another ‘winner-takes-all’ match by way of a dramatic “Super Over” (the second such occurrence in less than four months), it is hard not to cast one’s mind back to the exhilaratingly breathless conclusion to the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On that sunny July afternoon at Lords, the innocuous and rarely scrutinised Rule 19.8 of the ICC Men’s One Day International Playing Conditions1 (ODI Playing Conditions) regarding overthrows was suddenly thrust into the spotlight. In the context of highlighting the importance of clear drafting when it comes to sports rules, this article analyses the drafting of Rule 19.8 and concludes with the authors’ view on whether the umpires made the correct call at the climax of (arguably) the highest profile competition in international cricket.
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- Tags: Australia | Cricket | Cricket World Cup 2019 | England | ICC Men’s One Day International Playing Conditions | International Cricket Council (ICC) | Regulation
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Written by
Andrew Moroney
Andrew is a Senior Associate in Squire Patton Boggs’ global Sports & Entertainment Group, working out of the Dubai office.
Andrew has a wide array of experience advising clients in the sports, esports and events sectors on sponsorship, broadcasting, merchandising, ticketing, player contracts, intermediary issues, athlete endorsement, disciplinary issues, governance, regulatory matters and disputes. He regularly advises corporate entities, governing bodies, individuals and foreign law firms on matters spanning football, cycling, horseracing, motorsports, golf and tennis. Andrew has a particular interest in the esports industry, acting for publishers, tournament organisers and esports teams.
Shiraz Khan
Shiraz is a UK qualified lawyer with over 15 years of international tax experience. Prior to joining Al Tamimi, he was the global head of tax at a leading multinational where he was responsible for the tax affairs in over 100 countries. He has also worked for a top international law firm in the UK and big 4 firms in both the UK and the Middle East.
Shiraz specialises in advising on international tax structuring and tax aspects of cross border M&A, private equity, structured finance, Islamic finance and real estate transactions. He has in-depth knowledge and expertise across all taxes including corporate tax, withholding taxes and VAT in a wide range of industry sectors. He has particular expertise in advising multinational corporations on structuring their investments and operations into the region and financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, real estate investment companies, family offices and private equity groups based in the region on their international investments.
Shiraz regularly speaks at conferences and seminars on international tax issues and has been involved in advising governments on the drafting of tax laws.
