The Bat has been dominating the Ball in Cricket for a long time. Every single advantage the Bowler had over the years has been chiseled away one by one.
Initially they had uncovered pitches, which gave a huge advantage to the bowlers in Test Cricket. Then they started covering the pitch which made it batsmen friendly.
The rules were tweaked to protect the Batsmen periodically. The number of bouncers have been limited, stricter LBW rules were framed (unless one gets hit plumb in front of the wicket, with the ball pitching on the middle stump, not deviating and at shin height, the bowler doesn't stand a ghost of a chance of getting LBW these days), any ball pitching even a shade outside the leg stump is called a wide (in ODI and T20), Boundaries are pulled in, Bats have become lighter and stronger which meant mishits or top edges going over the ropes, the White Balls used in ODI and T 20 hardly do anything in the Air after 4 overs as compared to the Red Ball, the Seams of Kookaburra balls are a joke for they hardly exist, the number of overs a bowler can bowl in an innings in ODI and T 20 are fixed................. I can go on..... but you get the idea.
Compare this with the changes that affect the Bowlers............Zilch.
With the advent of T 20, Fast bowlers and Finger spinners are becoming a dying breed. Bowlers don't try to get wickets anymore. They are happy to get hit for 8 runs per over in 4 overs. They should grin sheepishly when they get tonked around by a tail-ender despite bowling a decent ball. In short, they are the whipping boys.
The Administrators think that people come to watch 6's and 4's. This is wrong. I have always enjoyed a match where there is something in the wicket for the bowlers than a match of T 20 where both teams score 220 plus in 20 overs.
I have my thoughts on how to make it a fair contest between the Bat and the Ball. Since T 20 is the flavour of the Season, my focus has been on T 20, though many of the ideas can be implemented to ODIs too. Some of it are cranky, while some very sensible. Read on....
Pull
Pull
Split the T 20 Innings to Two
Spit the T 20 innings to two. Batting team to bat 10
overs first. Fielding Team to bat 20 overs. The batting team then to play the
last 10 and chase down the target or alternatively Batting Team to bat 10 overs first, followed by Fielding Team to bat 10 overs and this is repeated once again. (For ODI's this can be 25 Innings X 2 per Team). In the event of a rain affected match, the
scores at the end of both teams completing 10 overs (for ODI 25 overs) to be considered.
Pull back the Boundaries to 80 Yards
This shall straight away negate easy 6's and 4's, mishits will get caught in the deep, Batsmen running 3s will be seen more (when was the last time you saw a Batsmen run 3 in a T 20 or ODI?), the Finger Spinners and Wrist Spinners get the motivation to toss up the ball, which brings stumping chances and in all this one change will spice up the game.
Reduce the Number of Batsmen who can bat in an Innings to 7
If Bowlers are allowed to Bowl only 4 overs, why should all the 11 Batsmen be allowed to bat in a 120 ball game. The issue here is that a Team has less to worry about getting all out, as it means the Bowling team has to take a wicket on an average one every 12 balls. The Batsmen hence can and do take risks. Reduce the number of batsmen who can bat to 7 (though the Team shall comprise 11 players, the other 4 being Bowlers), with a Team getting all out if they lose 6 wickets, and suddenly you will see these silly innovative hitting getting curbed. This will also encourage Teams to play specialist Bowlers rather than bits and pieces cricketers who can bat and bowl a bit (or rather who cant bat or bowl a bit like Stuart Binny).
Changes in the Ball
Do away with the White Ball. Replace it with Pink and see the fun as the Pink Ball swings a lot more. Batsmen these days just pick the line and take an almighty swing through the line, for they know the ball will not deviate.They are exposed when it either swings or turns.Make it also mandatory that the Balls have pronounced Seam, like SG or Duke. This helps both the Pace and Spin Bowlers.
I would like to go a step further and introduce a Ball that has shine on only One Side. Let the manufacturer apply lacquer on one side with the other side roughed up. The Ball will swing like a banana.This shall take the Ball Tampering issue out of the equation.
No Balls, Wides, LBW
I have written before here. No Ball should be called when the Front foot cuts the popping crease. Use sensors. Scrap Free hit for No Ball. Increase penalty for no ball to 2 runs and bowler to re-bowl the ball. The re-bowled ball is a legitimate ball, and batsmen should not get undue benefit of him not getting out, as is the current scenario.
Leg Side Wide to be set at 3 stumps beyond leg stump. Offside wide to be 6 stumps outside the off stump for T 20 and ODI. This gives the bowler a little more leeway.
LBW Rule to be amended. The only criteria is ‘Would the ball have hit the stumps’. This is logical. If a ball has pitched 5 stumps outside the leg stump, turns, hits the stumps the batsmen is out. If the same ball hits the Pad, but the ball would have hit the stumps if the pad was not to be there, is considered not out. I cannot understand the logic behind this. I am aware this is about blind spot. But to me it doesn't hold water. If any ball would have gone on to hit the stumps if the pad was not to be there, it should be given out LBW.
Additional Stumps
This is a bit off beat. I would Have 1 additional stump each on both sides, making it 5 in total for T20. This gives the bowler a better chance to hit and will make the batsmen stand still in the batting crease than dancing around.
Any Takers?
Pull back the Boundaries to 80 Yards
This shall straight away negate easy 6's and 4's, mishits will get caught in the deep, Batsmen running 3s will be seen more (when was the last time you saw a Batsmen run 3 in a T 20 or ODI?), the Finger Spinners and Wrist Spinners get the motivation to toss up the ball, which brings stumping chances and in all this one change will spice up the game.
Reduce the Number of Batsmen who can bat in an Innings to 7
If Bowlers are allowed to Bowl only 4 overs, why should all the 11 Batsmen be allowed to bat in a 120 ball game. The issue here is that a Team has less to worry about getting all out, as it means the Bowling team has to take a wicket on an average one every 12 balls. The Batsmen hence can and do take risks. Reduce the number of batsmen who can bat to 7 (though the Team shall comprise 11 players, the other 4 being Bowlers), with a Team getting all out if they lose 6 wickets, and suddenly you will see these silly innovative hitting getting curbed. This will also encourage Teams to play specialist Bowlers rather than bits and pieces cricketers who can bat and bowl a bit (or rather who cant bat or bowl a bit like Stuart Binny).
Changes in the Ball
Do away with the White Ball. Replace it with Pink and see the fun as the Pink Ball swings a lot more. Batsmen these days just pick the line and take an almighty swing through the line, for they know the ball will not deviate.They are exposed when it either swings or turns.Make it also mandatory that the Balls have pronounced Seam, like SG or Duke. This helps both the Pace and Spin Bowlers.I would like to go a step further and introduce a Ball that has shine on only One Side. Let the manufacturer apply lacquer on one side with the other side roughed up. The Ball will swing like a banana.This shall take the Ball Tampering issue out of the equation.
No Balls, Wides, LBW
I have written before here. No Ball should be called when the Front foot cuts the popping crease. Use sensors. Scrap Free hit for No Ball. Increase penalty for no ball to 2 runs and bowler to re-bowl the ball. The re-bowled ball is a legitimate ball, and batsmen should not get undue benefit of him not getting out, as is the current scenario.
Leg Side Wide to be set at 3 stumps beyond leg stump. Offside wide to be 6 stumps outside the off stump for T 20 and ODI. This gives the bowler a little more leeway.
LBW Rule to be amended. The only criteria is ‘Would the ball have hit the stumps’. This is logical. If a ball has pitched 5 stumps outside the leg stump, turns, hits the stumps the batsmen is out. If the same ball hits the Pad, but the ball would have hit the stumps if the pad was not to be there, is considered not out. I cannot understand the logic behind this. I am aware this is about blind spot. But to me it doesn't hold water. If any ball would have gone on to hit the stumps if the pad was not to be there, it should be given out LBW.
Additional Stumps
This is a bit off beat. I would Have 1 additional stump each on both sides, making it 5 in total for T20. This gives the bowler a better chance to hit and will make the batsmen stand still in the batting crease than dancing around.
Any Takers?
