Increasing clamour for full player substitution in cricket

In the recent Test series between England and India, serious injuries were sustained by two players during a match that prevented their ongoing full contribution. Consequently, discussions have reopened relating to the introduction of full like-for-like substitutes in the game’s longest format.

During its historical development, first-class cricket has flirted with substitution from time to time.

An early example of substitution occurred in 1843. Thomas Barker of Nottinghamshire broke his leg while getting out of a horse-drawn carriage before a match against Hampshire at Southampton. It was agreed that, rather than Nottinghamshire playing with 10 men, another member of the team would be allowed to bat twice in each innings. It seems that in the gentlemanly era of the mid to late 19th century, numerous substitutions occurred for reasons other than injury. One England XI captain decided not to take any further part in a match against Yorkshire because he was booed by the crowd.

More recently, there have been occasions when a player has been called up for his national team while playing for his state or county team. A playing substitute was allowed, only for him to be replaced by the returning original player who had not been selected to play for his country. A more frequent occurrence is when a player is selected for a Test squad, but is not selected for the playing 11 and returns to his state or county team to replace someone who began the match. While this rather fluid approach is allowed in relation to national call-ups, neither illness nor injury have been considered acceptable reasons for full substitution.

Partial substitution has been allowed since the late 19th century. This allows for the injured or ill