Daniel Brigham: Specialist proposals can rejuvenate ODIs
December 9th, 2009 by Daniel Brigham in One-day cricketThe latest idea to rejuvenate ODIs is to give two bowlers 12 overs each and two bowlers 10, leaving just six overs to be made up by the likes of Paul Collingwood.
These efforts, on top of powerplays, to shock life back into the ODI corpse have all gone a bit Frankenstein’s monster haven’t they? Hmm. Actually, this one seems a good idea. The ICC cricket committee’s proposal is designed to encourage selectors to stop picking bits-and-pieces players who can offer a few overs and a few runs and instead choose a team of specialists.
Cricket is at its best when Brett Lee is bowling to Kevin Pietersen, which is what this proposal encourages, not Andrew McDonald bowling to Dimi Mascarenhas, which is what no one should encourage.
Rather than bringing on the trundlers for those soul- and ODI-destroying middle overs (the long-ball tactic of cricket), the contest between bat and ball will remain at its peak throughout the 50 overs.
Why not go even further and remove bowling restrictions entirely? If Jimmy Anderson is swinging it through hoops and down tubes, why deprive the crowd of one of the greatest sights in cricket by cutting him off after 10 overs? Give the public the best possible cricket for the longest possible time.
Daniel Brigham is assistant editor of The Wisden Cricketer
Posted in One-day cricket | 3 Comments »
December 9th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Nothing will fix ODIs as fast as the simple change in allowing bowlers to bowl as many overs as their captains want. In fact, I’d go even further and suggest that some flexibility in fielding positions as well be restored to captains. The rules on wides will ensure that matters will not get too out of hand.
December 10th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I still theink that the two innings ODI is worth considering.
December 14th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Bouncers need looking at. Batsmen wear helmets these days and bouncers are restricted. For goodness sake! Genuine cricket fans like nothing more than a true contest between bat and ball and the game is loaded in favour of batsmen. Let the bowlers have their bouncers and if they get it wrong, they will be wided. The best bouncer is into the body anyway. So a good batsman should be able to deal with it. The ICC musyt decide whether the 50-over game is serious cricket, or hit-and-giggle cricket l8ike the 20 over game.