The England Cricket Board (ECB) has banned cricketers from wearing smartwatches on the field of play in all upcoming fixtures, tightening its anti-corruption regulations in the wake of live streaming in county cricket. The governing body had earlier allowed players to wear smartwatches on the field of play, provided that communication or data transmission facilities would be switched off in televised games.
"We review the anti-corruption codes and PMOA minimum standards on a yearly basis so that they remain relevant to the current threats and risks to cricket," an ECB spokesperson was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. Interestingly, at the end of the 2019 County Championship season Lancashire spinner Matt Parkinson revealed that he had found out about his England call-up via a notification on his team-mate Steven Croft's smart watch. This incident has now led to a change in rules. ICC, cricket's governing body, has already banned the use of smart watches on the field of play.
