'Comfort breaks' banned in Tests

Substitute Gary Pratt was at the heart of England's Ashes celebrations

The International Cricket Council is to take a much tougher stance on the use of rolling substitutions during Tests and one-day internationals.

At its annual meeting in Dubai, the ICC amended one of its playing conditions.

Subs will only be allowed "in cases of injury, illness or other wholly acceptable reasons," the ICC explained.

"Wholly acceptable reasons should be limited to extreme circumstances and should not include what is commonly referred to as a 'comfort break'."

During Test matches in hot conditions, fast bowlers are commonly seen coming off the field after a spell, only to return 15 minutes later after a quick shower and a change of clothes.

The new directive will ensure umpires can clamp down heavily on that practice.

At a crucial moment in the 2005 Ashes series, Ricky Ponting was run out by substitute fielder Gary Pratt, and Australia later complained.

606: DEBATE Your views on this subject

But England insisted Pratt was taking the place of the genuinely injured Simon Jones.

Meanwhile, confirmation has also been given that umpires will have more flexibility to shorten intervals between innings during one-day internationals to make up for lost time.

The abandoned clash between England and New Zealand at Edgbaston in June was overshadowed by a row over why a 30-minute interval was taken after half the day had already been lost to rain, and play reduced to 24 overs per side.

Also in ODIs, the batting team will now be allowed to choose when one of the two five-over powerplays are taken.

Up until now, it had been the fielding captain's choice to make that decision.