Cricket: Free hit rule introduced

A "free hit" rule, allowing batsmen to swing at the next delivery after a no-ball with no risk of being dismissed other than run out, has been introduced for this season's ING Cup one-day cricket competition in Australia.

The rule has proved a crowd-pleaser in England, where it's now used in all the domestic limited-overs competitions.

In other rule changes for the 2003-04 ING Cup, an extra bonus point will be awarded to any team which doubles the run-rate of their opponent, while the number of players in each team is back to 11, rather than 12.