I’ve been umpiring in the local cricket leagues for the last 5 years, and the recent handball farce is not dissimilar to the regulations regarding “warnings” for dangerous beamers, (a waist high delivery that doesn’t bounce) which used to fall under the sole discretion of the match official.
The ECB tried to remove the grey area by classifying all beamers as dangerous, regardless of pace, direction, or proximity to the body.
1st offence: warning
2nd offence: bowler removed from the bowling attack
However, by making the rule more consistent, it also removed any opportunity for common sense, as crap bowling was now treated the same as dangerous bowling.
After a ridiculous season, involving slow bowlers being “warned”, after a crap delivery had just been smashed out of the ground, the ECB reverted to the original discretion of the umpire.