Why only players who haven't played
Once somebody has batted, their runs belong to a team. Move them afterwards and you'd be moving those runs too, and now you're rewriting the match rather than fixing it. So the rule stops at the first ball they face or bowl. Until then they're just a name on a list, and a name can go anywhere.
The three moves
| Move | When you'd use it | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Move | One side is obviously stronger | One team gets a player, the other loses one |
| Swap | Teams are level in numbers but not in ability | Team sizes stay the same |
| Remove | Somebody has to go home | That team's all-out count drops by one |
The third-over rebalance
Everyone knows the feeling. Three overs in, one team has both the good bowlers and the kid who's been going to proper coaching, and the other team is already 12 for 3. A swap now is better for everyone than a sixty-run thrashing and a sulk. Most grounds allow it as long as the players moving haven't done anything yet.
Somebody arriving rather than leaving? That's the late-joiner rule.
