The new cricket season will begin in earnest next month with the start of the 50-over and open cricket competitions.

And with it comes a raft of changes to the playing conditions that will affect players and umpires alike.

Mindful of the fact that their cricketers have not been as well behaved as they might have been, this season will be the first year in a Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) three-year plan to improve the conduct of all concerned.

The ICC's High Performance programme, of which Bermuda is a part, demands a certain level of respect and discipline, and it is hoped that the changes this season will begin to improve conduct in the Island's cricket leagues.

Central to this will be an adoption of zero tolerance to bad behaviour towards opponents and umpires.

There will also be a greater emphasis on players looking the part, as well as acting correctly.

This season, no-one will be allowed to bat in the 50-over contest if they have any item of equipment which is not coloured. Any batsman that enters the field of play with white pads or gloves will be given three minutes to change. If they have not done so in that time, they will either be timed-out, or given the option to retire.

However, they will only be allowed to return to bat if the opposition captain agrees.

Therefore, a team could find itself nine down and not be allowed to have someone return to the crease unless the opposing captain is happy for them to do so.

It is hoped that small changes such as this will bring Bermuda in line with an international accepted code of conduct for the sport.

"It is not about a witch hunt," said BCB vice-president Allen Richardson.

"It's about adopting a reasonable standard of behaviour and making sure that we do the basics well, like every other country that plays the game."

There will also be a new time limit for the toss to take place. Teams will now have to be ready to toss up 30 minutes before the game is due to start, as opposed to the 20 minutes last year.

Although there are no sanctions in place if a team are not ready, a wholesale review will take place if games are found to be continually starting late.

One option open to the BCB in that instance will be to adopt a policy whereby if one team is not ready to toss up 30 minutes before the game starts, they will automatically lose the toss.

While there will be a new focus on discipline, some of the playing conditions for the 50 over competition, and the new open cricket competition have changed as well.

In the open cricket, games will now start at 10 a.m., and finish by 7 p.m. There will be a maximum of 120 overs in the game, with the side batting first allowed 65 of those.

However, if the side batting first are bowled out, or declare, before 65 overs are up, the remaining overs will be added to the other team's innings.

There will also be a restriction on the number of overs anyone under-19 can bowl.

The restrictions start at –four overs per spell, and eight overs per day for anyone under-13, and increases gradually, finishing with under-18 and under-19 bowlers being restricted to seven overs a spell, and 21 in the day.

There is also a new rule for under-18 wicketkeepers, and batsmen, both of whom will have to wear a helmet with full face mask, although this only applies to the wicketkeeper if they are standing up.

In the 50-over game, there will still be 20 overs of power plays, but now a captain will be able to nominate one of the five over periods where he can have three fielders outside the 30-yard circle.

Free hits will also be introduced for foot fault no balls, however, just like a no-ball, batsman will still be able to be out on the free hit if they are run-out, obstruct a fielder, handle the ball, or hit it twice.

The Change in full

50-over

Colour clothing and pads must be worn at all times. If not, under Law 2.9, a batsman maybe timed-out or asked to retire, unless he has changed in the three-minutes allowed once he has commenced his innings.

nIf the innings of the team batting first ends within 30 minutes of the scheduled time of the interval, the interval will take place immediately, and the team batting second will start their innings early.

The remaining time will then be used as extra time if required

There will be 20 power play overs with the first one being a mandatory 10 overs, followed by two blocks of five. During either the second or third power play overs, the fielding side will be permitted to have three fielders outside the 30-yard circle.

The umpire will signal the power play overs with three fielders outside the circle, by first rotating their arm in a large circular motion and then raising their arm with three fingers extended.

The sequence of power play overs will change depending on the number of overs available. In a game reduced to 45 overs, the power play sequence will be 9+5+4.

Foot fault no-balls

nIn the event of a foot fault no-ball, the next delivery shall be a free hit. A batsman can only be dismissed from this delivery under the same circumstances as for a no-ball; run-out, obstruction, handled the ball, hit the ball twice.

If the bowler bowls a wide ball, that will not count as a free hit delivery.

Fielding changes will not be permitted for a free hit, unless the batsman have changed ends.

The ball must be replaced at the beginning of the 35th over.

The replacement ball for each team's innings will be selected by the opposing captain before the match from a selection of cleaned and whitened used balls.

A wicketkeeper 18-years old and younger shall wear a helmet with a face guard when fielding up to the wickets.

One-Day Open League

*All players 18-years old and under shall wear a helmet with a face guard when they are wicketkeeping or batting. They shall further be restricted to the number of overs they can bowl as outlined in the BCB guidelines for youth players.

BCB guidelines: Up to 13: 4 overs per spell 8 overs per day; U14, U15: 5 overs per spell 10 overs per day; U16, U17: 6 overs per spell 18 overs per day; U18, U19: –7 overs per spell 21 overs per day

*If a players is absent from the field for longer than eight minutes they shall not be allowed to bowl until at least that length of playing time they were absent from the field. Also a player shall not be permitted to bat unless or until, the same length of playing time has passed, or if earlier should their side have already lost 5 wickets.

*If team one declares, or its innings ends prior to the 65 overs, the overs not used shall go to team two.

*If the minimum overs in the day have not been bowled by 7pm, 30 minutes of permitted overtime shall be afforded to complete the game.

*If both captain's accept that there is no prospect of either team achieving a victory, they may agree to finish the match 30 minutes prior to the scheduled end.