Here's a list of things that I think would make world cricket better:
A World Cricket Team
Basically the idea is to have a cricket team that plays Test, One-Day and 20-20 cricket and who draws their players from non-Test nations like Ireland, Kenya and Zimbabwe. I discuss this idea in more detail here.
A free market for First class players
Imagine if English County sides could employ the services of any cricketer they want, without restriction? Imagine if English County players could be employed to play for teams in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, India and others with no restriction either? What if a Bangladesh side offers an Australian batsman an enticing offer to play in Bangladesh?This idea is explained further here.
Randomly determining which team bats first
The toss - the first and sometimes most controversial part of the match. Instead of tossing to see which captain makes the decision, why not simply use the toss to determine which side bats first and which side bowls first without even asking the captains? Eg: Heads for England batting first, tails for Australia batting first.
No more rolling pitches between innings
Pitch preparation these days has made top class cricket matches more biased towards batsmen. An indication of this is the amount of current Test batsmen who have career averages over 50. I think pitches should be allowed to wear out faster as the match progresses to encourage and reward good bowling. Cricket law allows the pitch to be rolled between innings - that should be stopped, allowing the pitch to deteriorate faster. The pitch on day one should be a batsman's paradise. The pitch on day five should be a minefield.
No more mowing during play
Modern outfields are as smooth as billiard tables. They give great value for shots played if Bill Lawry is to be believed. Unfortunately, like perfect pitches, they skew the match towards batsmen. If the grass in the outfield is allowed to grow as the match progresses, then it will be harder to score runs. Currently cricket law allows the outfield to be mowed before and after each day's play - this, too, should be stopped. The outfield on day one should be as smooth as a billiard table in keeping with the idea that day one of the Test should be a batsman's paradise. By day five, with an increasingly shaggy outfield restricting runs, the match has swung towards the bowler.
Restricting One Day careers to 100 matches
One Day cricket is profitable yet, in order for fresh players to be introduced and for experienced players to be able to extend their careers, a cap should be made on the amount of one-day cricket one player can be allowed to play. The Test and first-class career of Shane Warne was extended because of his retirement from one-day cricket.
A World Cup of Test Cricket
This has been around for years but obstacles to this competition are disappearing. The best place for the competition to be would be England, as it allows the least disruption. It would involve all eight test playing nations (Zimbabwe will not play Tests again for some time) playing each other once in five-day matches throughout an entire English Summer. Bonus points can be awarded to take into account draws, close losses or big wins. A World Cup final (played over six days) would occur between the top two teams, with the top team given bonus runs at the start of the match as a reward for their finishing top of the table.
© 2007 Neil McKenzie Cameron, http://one-salient-oversight.blogspot.com/
FAQ about the author
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
A World Cricket Team
Basically the idea is to have a cricket team that plays Test, One-Day and 20-20 cricket and who draws their players from non-Test nations like Ireland, Kenya and Zimbabwe. I discuss this idea in more detail here.
A free market for First class players
Imagine if English County sides could employ the services of any cricketer they want, without restriction? Imagine if English County players could be employed to play for teams in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, India and others with no restriction either? What if a Bangladesh side offers an Australian batsman an enticing offer to play in Bangladesh?This idea is explained further here.
Randomly determining which team bats first
The toss - the first and sometimes most controversial part of the match. Instead of tossing to see which captain makes the decision, why not simply use the toss to determine which side bats first and which side bowls first without even asking the captains? Eg: Heads for England batting first, tails for Australia batting first.
No more rolling pitches between innings
Pitch preparation these days has made top class cricket matches more biased towards batsmen. An indication of this is the amount of current Test batsmen who have career averages over 50. I think pitches should be allowed to wear out faster as the match progresses to encourage and reward good bowling. Cricket law allows the pitch to be rolled between innings - that should be stopped, allowing the pitch to deteriorate faster. The pitch on day one should be a batsman's paradise. The pitch on day five should be a minefield.
No more mowing during play
Modern outfields are as smooth as billiard tables. They give great value for shots played if Bill Lawry is to be believed. Unfortunately, like perfect pitches, they skew the match towards batsmen. If the grass in the outfield is allowed to grow as the match progresses, then it will be harder to score runs. Currently cricket law allows the outfield to be mowed before and after each day's play - this, too, should be stopped. The outfield on day one should be as smooth as a billiard table in keeping with the idea that day one of the Test should be a batsman's paradise. By day five, with an increasingly shaggy outfield restricting runs, the match has swung towards the bowler.
Restricting One Day careers to 100 matches
One Day cricket is profitable yet, in order for fresh players to be introduced and for experienced players to be able to extend their careers, a cap should be made on the amount of one-day cricket one player can be allowed to play. The Test and first-class career of Shane Warne was extended because of his retirement from one-day cricket.
A World Cup of Test Cricket
This has been around for years but obstacles to this competition are disappearing. The best place for the competition to be would be England, as it allows the least disruption. It would involve all eight test playing nations (Zimbabwe will not play Tests again for some time) playing each other once in five-day matches throughout an entire English Summer. Bonus points can be awarded to take into account draws, close losses or big wins. A World Cup final (played over six days) would occur between the top two teams, with the top team given bonus runs at the start of the match as a reward for their finishing top of the table.
© 2007 Neil McKenzie Cameron, http://one-salient-oversight.blogspot.com/
FAQ about the author
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
1 comment:
I like the world team idea. Bermuda could probably go in with West Indies, since WI is already a multi-national team.
I don't like the chances of a Rest of the World team, although we've never seen one that stays together long-term. (I remember when Australia beat RotW in a 1-dayer, whose highest scorer was Dean Jones, 2 years retired from the Aust team.)
I don't like the idea of adding more advantages for the team batting first.
I don't think a Test World Cup would work, but they do already have some sort of ranking system for Test teams. Every ~5 years the top 2 teams could meet for a game billed as a championship game.
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