Overview
- Under updated guidance to franchises, only the 16 players named on a team’s match sheet may enter the field for tasks such as carrying drinks, bats, or messages.
- Squad members outside that 16 must stay in the dugout and cannot move through the area between the boundary rope and the LED advertising boards.
- A new boundary limit caps the number of bibbed personnel at five at any one time, whether they are from the named 16 or other squad members.
- Reports say the changes clarify existing Match Playing Conditions, citing clause 11.5.2 on how drinks can be taken onto the field and clause 24.1.4 requiring bibs for non-playing squad members.
- Outlets link the crackdown to recent bench-side incidents and efforts to protect broadcast sightlines and LED signage, while noting the board has not issued a detailed public rationale; the step also fits a broader season of tighter operational controls, including practice limits and updated anti-discrimination and DRS guidance.