ICC Proposes Two New Ball Rule for ODIs

[Pioneer]

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/current/story/438501.html The ICC cricket committee has proposed a set of radical changes to the way one-day internationals are played, aimed at breathing life into what is considered to be a dying format. It has made its recommendations to the executive committee but there has been no indication yet of whether they will be ratified. The first change would involve the use of two new balls, one from each end, from the start of the game. This would preclude the need for the contentious 'compulsory ball change' after 34 overs but would also, ironically, make it virtually impossible to achieve any reverse swing as both balls would be only 25 overs old at the end of the match. Another dramatic suggestion is for two bowlers to be allowed 12 overs each and two to bowl ten, leaving the fifth bowler an allocation of just six. The intention is to encourage captains and selectors to pick more 'specialists' and marginalise the need for bits-and-pieces cricketers. "The committee were in favour of making the changes straightaway though they all knew that there would be administrative resistance with a World Cup just 15 months away," said one observer at the meeting, which took place in Dubai. The 12-man committee, chaired by Clive Lloyd and comprising respected former and current international players, also considered reducing the standard ODI from 50 overs to 40 overs but decided, instead, to attempt to redress the balance between bat and ball. "There was a general consensus that one-sided games, especially when the bat is dominant over the ball, are causing the problem with falling interest," said a source. "It was agreed that bowlers need to be brought back into the game and captains need to be encouraged to attack with the ball rather than just defend."

[Lord]

no reverse swing then?

[Pioneer]

The balls would stay newer, meaning that it could be even more advantageous for the batsman as it would allow them to score easily due to the balls not getting as soft or slow.

[kooljatt]

Another dramatic suggestion is for two bowlers to be allowed 12 overs each and two to bowl ten, leaving the fifth bowler an allocation of just six. The intention is to encourage captains and selectors to pick more 'specialists' and marginalise the need for bits-and-pieces cricketers.

i like this bit :two_thumbs_up:

[Sachinism]

Don't like the idea of a ball at each end. Its too easy for the batsmen

[DomainK]

Foolish proposal. There should be an objective while changing the rules. I can not see what they are trying to achieve by such idiotic rules.

[bunny]

I like the idea to allow 2 bowlers to bowl 12 overs. Enough of the Ravindra Jadeja's and their likes.

[kabira]

the two ball rule was there before. I think world cup 92 was played with this rule. Instead of fixing the number of over, the rule should be this. If bowler takes a wicket, he can ball one more over. So if Steyn takes 5 wickets, he can bowl upto 15 overs.

[jf1gp_1]

the two ball rule was there before. I think world cup 92 was played with this rule. Instead of fixing the number of over, the rule should be this. If bowler takes a wicket, he can ball one more over. So if Steyn takes 5 wickets, he can bowl upto 15 overs.

Brilliant :two_thumbs_up:

[Fontaine]

This would have been a whole lot more easier if they just decided to have sporting pitches. It's the easiest thing to do, prepare the pitch well and stop rolling it to death. Just have a rating system on various international grounds and the flat tracks that lead to dull high scoring matches will be given less ODIs. The same rating system then could be slightly modified and used to ensure we get competitive Tests also. This won't result in improved bowlers, but just limited bowlers that are only good with the new ball but suck afterwards and there already are too many of those knocking around.

[Guest Hiten.]

The more they tinker with the format, the more deep sh*t it will end up in. As fontaine mentioned, all you need is a sporting wickets and a proper conduct of rules that are slapped on the stadiums to have a reasonable seating/toilet/food facilities (at least in India) maybe then the crowd will feel like going to the stadium. India-Australia series was a hit and crowd showed up in numbers, this indicates that the more competitive matches between two evenly matched sides you have will guarantee you a decent crowd. No one wants to spend 8 hours of watching a game when only one team shows up on the field.