Has two new balls helped the ODI format or not?

[Hasan123]

Has it made ODIs better or has it been a detriment to the format? Did you prefer ODIs with 1 ball for 50 overs?

Discuss.

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]

 

[mmkextreme_1]

I personally this was the single most pathetic rule implemented by the ICC

It takes away true spinners and reverse swing out of the game.

A lot of good players were lost due to this rule, I personally think it was singlehandedly destroyed Guls ODI career.

 

[Hasan123]

I personally this was the single most pathetic rule implemented by the ICC

It takes away true spinners and reverse swing out of the game.

A lot of good players were lost due to this rule, I personally think it was singlehandedly destroyed Guls ODI career.

That's one thing I don't like about the rule. Reverse swing has been taken away.

 

[as-95]

Has hurt the format without a doubt. It is an incredible sight to see reverse swinging toe crushers in any format of cricket but the new rule has reduced the possibility of this.

 

[Markhor]

Not a fan, but what's worse is the crappy Kookaburra ball.

I'd like to see one Dukes ball being used in the 2019 WC.

 

[nam]

When i read the title.. i was like wot??

No it hasnt helped at all.. too much batter friendly game is not great to watch.. however Pakistan has shown that they can adapt to different requirements by a good bowling attack and thinking Captain..

 

[Chief Destroyer]

It's helped FTBs like Sharma.

 

[Ahson8]

Not at all it’s rubbish; it’s totally killed reverse swing.

 

[Ahson8]

I personally this was the single most pathetic rule implemented by the ICC

It takes away true spinners and reverse swing out of the game.

A lot of good players were lost due to this rule, I personally think it was singlehandedly destroyed Guls ODI career.

What a spell of reverse swing bowling he bowled vs England in 2010. Mesmerising stuff.

Wahab used to be a lot more potent too with reverse swing around.

 

[babajee]

No as our bowling attack would be 10x better without it.

 

[MMHS]

Has it made ODIs better or has it been a detriment to the format? Did you prefer ODIs with 1 ball for 50 overs?

Discuss.


[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]

I prefer 1 ball, and a little more balanced game. However, with 1 ball, I saw double standards by umpires, so may be 2 ball isn't that bad - it keeps things even.

Reverse swing is an issue, but the spinner part is created by ICC - extend the boundary to possible farthest, lots of modern greats will found it difficult to hit six against average spinners. Good spinners can bowl with newish ball, but it's difficult to flight it, when you are scared that cross-batted slog sweeps can reach 60 metres from top edge. Otherwise, the footwork against spinners I see these days, on standard AUS grounds, good spinners will take 5/6 wickets with 2 balls from 20 overs.

I don't mind 2 balls, as long as the game is a bit more balanced to bowing.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

It is extremely unfair to south Asian countries which is why BCCI was against it. A cricket ball has to last atleast 50 overs long. They shouldn't be so desperate to kill reverse swing and spin in ODIs . Earlier scoring in ODIs got harder from the 35th to 50th over since it was harder to time the ball and spin and reverse swing kept batting sides in check. These days even mediocre players if both can smash their way to decent totals on such pitches.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

It is extremely unfair to south Asian countries which is why BCCI was against it. A cricket ball has to last atleast 50 overs long. They shouldn't be so desperate to kill reverse swing and spin in ODIs . Earlier scoring in ODIs got harder from the 35th to 50th over since it was harder to time the ball and spin and reverse swing kept batting sides in check. These days even mediocre players if both can smash their way to decent totals on such pitches.

Two new balls have actually made it more difficult to swing the new ball. They've taken layers of lacquer off so the balls don't swing for long periods. In doing that, the ball only swings in specific conditions now(Australia, SA, NZ mostly), that too for 3-5 overs each. Whereas the previous version used to swing for 10 overs at least anyhwere. It can swing in other countries but only in cooled down and calm conditions(night time) with a nice breeze so that nonexistent seam has enough friction but not too much turbulence as to throw it off balance.

 

[htariq25]

It has in some way ruined the format but we are used to it now. Modern odis are all about big scores and so it would be illogical to change back to one ball as this would make scores like 300 above par when in modern era it is par.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Two new balls have actually made it more difficult to swing the new ball. They've taken layers of lacquer off so the balls don't swing for long periods. In doing that, the ball only swings in specific conditions now(Australia, SA, NZ mostly), that too for 3-5 overs each. Whereas the previous version used to swing for 10 overs at least anyhwere. It can swing in other countries but only in cooled down and calm conditions(night time) with a nice breeze so that nonexistent seam has enough friction but not too much turbulence as to throw it off balance.

Disgusting. Most of us were not even happy with replacing the ball after the 34th over before ICC came up with with this *gem* of a move. Kookaburra have too much control over cricket. It's time the ICC gives an ultimatum to this wretched company to make proper white cricket balls that last the entire 50 overs or simply switch over to the white Dukes.

 

[Sean143]

This rule has greatly disturbed the balance between bat and ball.Top sides like SA and Ind are scoring 350+ against sides like WI,SL and bundling them out under 200.Competitive ODI cricket is hard to find these days

 

[Justcrazy]

reverse swing is part of the cricket and also spin . It makes the game more entertaining , ICC should not tamper with balance of the game.

 

[wrongun]

They only changed to two white balls due to problems with balls getting dirty/losing colour so constant fights over whether to swap it.

Why not just play 50 over ODI with a pink ball- it's just as good day or night visibility wise and retains it's colour?

 

[Sean143]

They only changed to two white balls due to problems with balls getting dirty/losing colour so constant fights over whether to swap it.

Why not just play 50 over ODI with a pink ball- it's just as good day or night visibility wise and retains it's colour?

I think we have something called colored clothing in Limited overs cricket

 

[wrongun]

I think we have something called colored clothing in Limited overs cricket

No need to be facetious.

So, there is no team who plays in pink, or since jerseys are changed in every series, teams could avoid pink colours. Only team close to affected these days might be Zimbabwe, who could adopt a stronger representation of their secondary colours.

I fail to see a stumbling block.

 

[Madplayer]

After the 40th over , one of the balls should be taken out of the game. And the other one should be kept so that some reverse swing could be brought into the game. You will only have to bowl 5 more overs with that one ball.

Or better yet, take one of the balls out after the 37th over only.

 

[Saffer_XIII]

No need to be facetious.

So, there is no team who plays in pink, or since jerseys are changed in every series, teams could avoid pink colours. Only team close to affected these days might be Zimbabwe, who could adopt a stronger representation of their secondary colours.

I fail to see a stumbling block.

What happens to South Africa's annual pink day ODI. Just kidding. White balls were perfectly fine until the start of this decade. What have they done to the balls?

 

[Nikhil_cric]

What happens to South Africa's annual pink day ODI. Just kidding. White balls were perfectly fine until the start of this decade. What have they done to the balls?

Check Chief Destroyer's post above for the answer.

 

[QalandarFan]

One thing comes to my mind when I think about this -- Reverse Swing.

So no I dam not in favor of this rule at all because it makes reverse swing very hard.

 

[wrongun]

What happens to South Africa's annual pink day ODI. Just kidding. White balls were perfectly fine until the start of this decade. What have they done to the balls?

White balls weren't fine, they always had to be changed between the 25th & 40th over, a "cleaned up" ball would be sent out and whether it did or did not behave like the old one often changed the course of an innings. Captains & teams would constantly be harping in the umpires ear about whether/not a ball needed to be changed in an attempt to get rid of one that wasn't swinging (bowlers) or that it was fine (batters) or if it was swinging, that it was too dirty to see (batters) or it was fine (bowlers).

They were bringing a replacement ball out every match.

 

[RamLakhan]

Have one ball for 1st to 10th Over
Introduce second ball at 11th over and have it till 40th over
Bring back the 1st ball at 41st over and play till 50th over

This would solve all the problems. You will be using two balls here as well. During the 1st powerplay bowlers can have cracks with two new balls. Spinners can grip the 2nd ball between 20th to 40th over. Reverse swinging exploits can enjoy 35th to 40th overs. But batsman must find it easy to slog in the last 10 overs with the 1st ball brought back (plus the powerplay)! This way you can find a good balance between bat and ball, also scores between 250 to 300 will become competitive again, 300+ becomes a rarity again, scores like -200+ can be defended if bowlers put in hard effort!

Otherwise ODIs will slowly and surely lose the race with T20... But at the same time you cannot switch over to the old 1 ball format with the ball getting discolored and too much advantage to reverse swing.

 

[Sean143]

Have one ball for 1st to 10th Over
Introduce second ball at 11th over and have it till 40th over
Bring back the 1st ball at 41st over and play till 50th over

This would solve all the problems. You will be using two balls here as well. During the 1st powerplay bowlers can have cracks with two new balls. Spinners can grip the 2nd ball between 20th to 40th over. Reverse swinging exploits can enjoy 35th to 40th overs. But batsman must find it easy to slog in the last 10 overs with the 1st ball brought back (plus the powerplay)! This way you can find a good balance between bat and ball, also scores between 250 to 300 will become competitive again, 300+ becomes a rarity again, scores like -200+ can be defended if bowlers put in hard effort!

Otherwise ODIs will slowly and surely lose the race with T20... But at the same time you cannot switch over to the old 1 ball format with the ball getting discolored and too much advantage to reverse swing.

what if they use 2 new balls for the first 10 overs(so that it swings) ,then use one of these balls till 30th over and then use both balls till the 50th over .Spinners will be able to bowl with the ball that is being used for 35 overs while in some situations it would be reversing at one end and one the other end 5 over old ball might swing in the end.This can make the games very interesting.

 

[KyoOne]

what if they use 2 new balls for the first 10 overs(so that it swings) ,then use one of these balls till 30th over and then use both balls till the 50th over .Spinners will be able to bowl with the ball that is being used for 35 overs while in some situations it would be reversing at one end and one the other end 5 over old ball might swing in the end.This can make the games very interesting.

It will surely make it more interesting, will add a whole new dimension for captains to make strategic changes according to the ball being used.

But ICC will never think along such unorthodox lines, no matter if it leads to a greater interest towards the game

 

[Pete Rose]

I am left with the impression that two balls have allowed the bowlers to compete in the latter part of the innings. More bounce on new ball helps spinner and fast-bowler alike. Not all late to middle order batsmen are equally adept at facing a new ball.

 

[hadi123]

Have one ball for 1st to 10th Over
Introduce second ball at 11th over and have it till 40th over
Bring back the 1st ball at 41st over and play till 50th over

This would solve all the problems. You will be using two balls here as well. During the 1st powerplay bowlers can have cracks with two new balls. Spinners can grip the 2nd ball between 20th to 40th over. Reverse swinging exploits can enjoy 35th to 40th overs. But batsman must find it easy to slog in the last 10 overs with the 1st ball brought back (plus the powerplay)! This way you can find a good balance between bat and ball, also scores between 250 to 300 will become competitive again, 300+ becomes a rarity again, scores like -200+ can be defended if bowlers put in hard effort!

Otherwise ODIs will slowly and surely lose the race with T20... But at the same time you cannot switch over to the old 1 ball format with the ball getting discolored and too much advantage to reverse swing.

Decent idea. Would go hand in hand with each Powerplay as well as PP 1 first 10 overs, PP 2 is middle 30 and PP 3 is last 10 so you can put these balls into affect with the powerplay.

 

[sam_ahm]

Probably the worst decision the ICC has taken over the years wrt rule changes. Killed the balance of the game and shifted it heavily in favor of the batters.

 

[Oligochaetes]

It has inflated batting averages and deflated bowling averages making comparison between players before and after the rule change useless.

 

[RamLakhan]

what if they use 2 new balls for the first 10 overs(so that it swings) ,then use one of these balls till 30th over and then use both balls till the 50th over .Spinners will be able to bowl with the ball that is being used for 35 overs while in some situations it would be reversing at one end and one the other end 5 over old ball might swing in the end.This can make the games very interesting.

That is heavily customized suit and may lead to confusions (though I agree it can make it interesting), but as Pete Rose said it might be difficult for middle order players to handle 5 overs old ball in the slog overs. What I suggested is manageable (its just a minor tweak of what ICC is doing now! Both balls can be effectively used.)

 

[R0H1T]

Probably the worst decision the ICC has taken over the years wrt rule changes. Killed the balance of the game and shifted it heavily in favor of the batters.

Also pace heavy teams, us from Asia are the worst affected whilst SA/Aus have greatly benefited.

 

[R0H1T]

That is heavily customized suit and may lead to confusions (though I agree it can make it interesting), but as Pete Rose said it might be difficult for middle order players to handle 5 overs old ball in the slog overs. What I suggested is manageable (its just a minor tweak of what ICC is doing now! Both balls can be effectively used.)

How about simply changing a bad looking(?) ball after 30~40 overs, with a better looking one, & limit the ball changes to 2 per innings? Not like this doesn;t happen in tests these days.

 

[RamLakhan]

How about simply changing a bad looking(?) ball after 30~40 overs, with a better looking one, & limit the ball changes to 2 per innings? Not like this doesn;t happen in tests these days.

Wasn't that the way it was before? 3rd Umpire running holding ball box in his hand and trying to figure out which resembles the most (and then the fielding captain interfering and umpires swaying him out) The batting team was extremely happy with the hard ball. All that was a mess! This all happened with white ball getting discolored with the grass. Now they have found this kind of solution.

OR are you suggesting a brand new ball at 35th or 40th over (just like new ball in Test Cricket after 90th over?) This is also a good move, but this time the choice has to be given to batsmen because ODI is a batsmen's game primarily. (If the batsmen thinks opposition has good reverse swing and spin exploits and if the pitch is flat, they can go for the new ball. If the pitch is lively and if the opposition has good new ball bowlers then they can retain the old ball. The choice should not be given to the fielding team. Fielding team can outsmart by reversing the tactics!)

All in all something has to be done about making ODI interesting (more than the issue of batsmen friendly rules) because fans of power-batting would eventually prefer T20 format for its short span and more dynamics (less dull period) ODI will still be the best format if it is not continued like this (300+ scores being scored and sometimes being chased! The only time its chased does it look interesting!)

ODI can still be interesting if we utilize the ball, pitch, powerplay conditions smartly! T20 will then become monotonous and boring! ODI can beat T20 easily! (Much to the delight of Pyjama cricket / Mickey Mouse Cricket haters IPL will die to make them happier)

 

[sam_ahm]

Also pace heavy teams, us from Asia are the worst affected whilst SA/Aus have greatly benefited.

Possible, but what is worse is that it has made the matches very boring. We hardly see an interesting contest these days. Surely something has gone terribly wrong.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Another game where bowlers were simply not in the game.

 

[aloo paratha]

Another game where bowlers were simply not in the game.

Too used to it now, sadly.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Too used to it now, sadly.

This upcoming World Cup might be the most boring one ever if you get the kind of flat tracks England have been dishing out.

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

RIP reverse swing.

 

[MMHS]

Two balls are not the issue, rather they have tempered the white ball as well, which is bigger problem. These machine stitched low seem balls are burnished differently, hence it doesn’t swing at all & seems less - otherwise on flattest of wickets, with 2 new balls we could have seen lots of modern great batting line up 5 down inside PP.

 

[saeed5646]

umar gul was not the same bowler after that rule

 

[MMHS]

umar gul was not the same bowler after that rule

It’s not with the rule, trust me. It’s with the doctored new ball. Gul was a faaaar better bowler in T20, where doesn’t matter much if you use 1, 2 or 4 balls in 20 overs - at most a ball is just 10 overs old.

These machine stitched Kukaburra is a curse for the game - it’s low seem doesn’t allow proper grip by finger spinners or pacers and it hardly offers any swing - be old or new or semi old. Only type of bowler least affected are leggis, who uses wrists, and doesn’t need that much grip on seem as long as condition is dry. On flattest of ENG wickets, you won’t score 350 in ODI against 2 hand stitched Dukes ball - read or white doesn’t matter. And, the irony is that the highest 2 ODI scores are at Trentbridge, home of Notts, home of Hadlee - where even tape tennis ball will swing!!!!!

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Two balls are not the issue, rather they have tempered the white ball as well, which is bigger problem. These machine stitched low seem balls are burnished differently, hence it doesn’t swing at all & seems less - otherwise on flattest of wickets, with 2 new balls we could have seen lots of modern great batting line up 5 down inside PP.

But when only 1 kookaburra white ball was used till 2011, the scores were lower and the bowlers were still in with a chance no? Or has the quality of this ball gone down even in last 7 years?

 

[MMHS]

But when only 1 kookaburra white ball was used till 2011, the scores were lower and the bowlers were still in with a chance no? Or has the quality of this ball gone down even in last 7 years?

I think so. They must have done something on the coating to make it better visible. Have to study further on this. Also, conditions & other rules had been amended to favour batsmen more.

 

[aloo paratha]

This upcoming World Cup might be the most boring one ever if you get the kind of flat tracks England have been dishing out.

2015 was most boring in my opinion, and chances are that 2019 will indeed top it. Then 2023 will probably be even worse.

My question is though? Who even enjoys watching these games? That's the main reason I like test cricket more as there is still a competition between bat and ball. ODIs have been terrible ever since I've been watching.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

2015 was most boring in my opinion, and chances are that 2019 will indeed top it. Then 2023 will probably be even worse.

My question is though? Who even enjoys watching these games? That's the main reason I like test cricket more as there is still a competition between bat and ball. ODIs have been terrible ever since I've been watching.

True. ODIs have certainly lost their charm since 2011 World Cup. No doubt about that . Tests are way better nowadays .

 

[aloo paratha]

True. ODIs have certainly lost their charm since 2011 World Cup. No doubt about that . Tests are way better nowadays .

Bro, just watching Higlights of ODI matches from 1990-2011 is more entertaining than watching a one day match today.

 

[gazza619]

The worst thing to ever happened to cricket.
Miss the old days.

 

[cricketindiafan]

With the two new balls, teams were struggling to score 250! Balls may be an issue but the pitches are a bigger problem. Fans staying away from these run fests should alarm the administrators. Pune and Mumbai ODIs have been played in half filled stadiums.

I was critical of Asia Cup pitches, the pitches in India -WI series have been no better, except that these are the types of wicket ICC will prepare in 2019

 

[topspin]

Like MMHS has said I think the problem is with the lack of quality with these Kookaburra balls.

2 new balls were needed and it was inevitable that this was going to happen because the middle overs of an ODI innings were just so boring. Batsmen were just milking it for singles whilst the fielding side had defensive fields. It was defensive cricket adopted all round by both teams at this phase of the innings.

We need the superior Duke ball in ODIs which has a far more pronounced seam. Scoring 350 against that won't be as easy.

 

[WengerOut]

Cricket authorities wanted to make ODIs more entertaining, which is good. The problem was, they believed batsmen scoring runs was the only entertainment.

 

[Chokli]

Two new balls or not Pakistan batsmen still find a way to struggle

 

[Nado_]

ICC- please go back to playing with one ball only for 50 overs.

Dear pathetic ICC sellouts,

After seeing some Brilliant reverse swing Yorkers from Shaheen. Seeing bowlers pick up these wickets is as much maybe more entertaining as seeing nice shots go for boundaries. ICC you pathetic cowards, get rid of your nonesense two new balls and you’ll get to see more of this.
ICC want bowlers to bowl like bowling machines and just see easy sixes. This is killing the fire in the bowlers, Bring back the one ball rule you morons and you’ll see some entertainment from pacers , spinners and batsmen. You’ll see some really entertaining finishes and will reignite the bowlers fire and passion, they’ll be going for wickets rather than just trying to avoid getting hit for boundaries in the end of the innings.

 

[sam_ahm]

It probably the worst possible thing to have happened to ODI cricket, ever.

 

[Nado_]

It probably the worst possible thing to have happened to ODI cricket, ever.

Spot on , a real big time blunder man, hopefully someone can fix it.

 

[Kroll]

It didn't help Pakistan, and as a consequence as mentioned earlier in the thread certainly helped FTB like Sharma and India. BCCI is king

Incidentally, how can they allow India to get away with those atrocious home pitches but try to quell a proper cricket skill like reverse swing?

 

[hitthestump]

The best solution i think i've heard so far is to use two new balls up until the 30th over then chuck one away for the remainder of the game.

Is there any reason why this wouldn't work or isn't a good idea?

 

[RehanG]

should move on to pink ball for test, odi's and t20's one ball for whole match

 

[Titan24]

Stuart Broad also touched this issue in the Sky comm box that it has made it really difficult for pacers to get wickets in later part of the innings.

I personally also feel that taking out any skill from a skill based sport by modifying rules is never a good idea. 4s and 6s might be good for commercial reasons but there has to be a balance and field restrictions were decent enough adjustment to give more of boundaries as well.

 

[ritzy_123]

We should move back to one ball again to make game more interesting..

 

[Amjid Javed]

Stupid 2 ball rule and changes to fielding restrictions means loads of mediocre ODI batsmen now look like world beaters. ICC needs to change rules again.

 

[ethan hunt]

The two new ball rule changes the dynamics of the game completely.
Batting has become way too easy.
Someone like Hassan ali will become a brilliant white ball bowler if the 2 new ball rule goes.

 

[sam_ahm]

Many batsmen who cannot bat to save their lives in tests are looking like batting legends in white ball cricket. Hilarious.

 

[street cricketer]

Ashwin in his latest video said the 5 fielder inside circle rule during the middle overs has killed the art of spin in ODI cricket and said he doesn't know what the intentions of the ICC are - questioned if the rules are designed so to take spin out of the game in ODI cricket.

I would say both the above rule and the two new ball rule have been designed to increase the scoring rate in ODI cricket as more sixes and fours = more entertainment in their opinion. But as a consequence, spin and reverse swing has suffered.

 

[BigShak]

So much money in the game yet they still haven’t had the willingness to come up with a white ball that can last 50 overs without looking like terrible at the end of it.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Ashwin in his latest video said the 5 fielder inside circle rule during the middle overs has killed the art of spin in ODI cricket and said he doesn't know what the intentions of the ICC are - questioned if the rules are designed so to take spin out of the game in ODI cricket.

I would say both the above rule and the two new ball rule have been designed to increase the scoring rate in ODI cricket as more sixes and fours = more entertainment in their opinion. But as a consequence, spin and reverse swing has suffered.

The 5 fielder in the circle rule just means that 1/3 of the outfield is free for batsmen to target which gives bowlers no scope for error, add to that the stupid 2 new ball rule and batsmen are simply not having to work hard for runs. Game is to batsmen friendly.

 

[sam_ahm]

In today's match batsmen were hitting sixes as if those are like taking singles.. Graeme Swann was laughing his head off, what's the fun if it's that easy??

 

[gazza619]

The worse thing that could have happened to cricket. Murder of spin and reverse swing.

 

[UzmanBeast]

The worse thing that could have happened to cricket. Murder of spin and reverse swing.

Completely agree, particularly the death of finger spin.

The art of finger spin is dead now, only a few like Ashwin are keeping it alive in test matches (where it is widely used), but in other formats, it is practically dead.

Mujeeb looked like someone who could bring the art back a little, but he too has been bashed excessively in the PSL.

Similarly, with the two new balls, there's no reverse at the death so bowling teams out becomes trickier. The margin of error also reduces, and batsmen can be ultra-aggressive without any fear.

It has succeeded in creating high scoring thrillers, but failed in almost all other aspects.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Has it made ODIs better or has it been a detriment to the format? Did you prefer ODIs with 1 ball for 50 overs?

Discuss.


[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]

Garbage rule. I don't know why Pakistan never Opposed this rule, it took away reverse swing. This rule did for Pakistan what bouncer rule did for West indies. Time to reverse this rule, this is another rule which makes Odi cricket very 1 dimensional.

 

[Babeikh]

ICC needs to work out what they want ODIs to be.

Do they want ODIs to just be T20s that take all day to finish? If so, these are the kinds of rules they should be looking to implement.

Personally I don't want ODIs to just be T20s that take all day to finish. The whole fun of a T20 is that it is smash, bang, wallop and over in 3 hours. The whole benefit is that you get to see some fun cricket and don't have to use up your whole day. So for me an ODI should be the perfect balance sitting between a Test Match and a T20, with balanced pitches that have something for the bowlers, boundaries pushed back so edges don't go for six and, yes, reverse swing too.

This was a stupid rule because it completely took out reverse swing from the game and meant that the ball stays hard throughout the game, making boundaries easy etc. A better rule change would have been to ban the ball change which always used to happen between the 30-35th over and just say tough luck to batsman who pretended they couldn't see the ball but were actually worried about reverse swing.

Utterly stupid rule.

 

[Last Monetarist]

This was a stupid rule because it completely took out reverse swing from the game and meant that the ball stays hard throughout the game, making boundaries easy etc. A better rule change would have been to ban the ball change which always used to happen between the 30-35th over and just say tough luck to batsman who pretended they couldn't see the ball but were actually worried about reverse swing.

I don't think that's realistic for a few reasons, one is that the ball used to become so scuffed up that it was hard to pick up for the spectators and the viewers on television. Furthermore, it wasn't just an issue of colour but also the ball getting bent out of shape. The manufacturers have never been able to figure out a way to get the white ball to last for more than 40 overs.

The only solution I can envisage is to play 50 over cricket with the pink ball, with all its inherent unpredictability. But then we're moving to the other extreme.

 

[Babeikh]

I don't think that's realistic for a few reasons, one is that the ball used to become so scuffed up that it was hard to pick up for the spectators and the viewers on television. Furthermore, it wasn't just an issue of colour but also the ball getting bent out of shape. The manufacturers have never been able to figure out a way to get the white ball to last for more than 40 overs.

The only solution I can envisage is to play 50 over cricket with the pink ball, with all its inherent unpredictability. But then we're moving to the other extreme.

Pink ball is fine by me.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Gautam Gambhir Urges ICC To Revisit This Rule, Says 'Unfair' For Finger Spinners​

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir on Friday urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to revisit the two new-ball rule in limited over formats, and the World Cup-winner termed it as "unfair" to finger spinners. The ICC had implemented the particular rule in ODIs in October 2011, something the legendary Sachin Tendulkar had rated as "perfect recipe for disaster." "One thing I would definitely change is the use of two new balls, especially in white-ball cricket," Gambhir said during the 'Rise to Leadership' talk show by the Indian Chamber of Commerce. The stipulation to use two new balls, several experts felt, has disadvantaged finger spinners and reduced the chances of reverse swing as it helps the ball to retain the shine.

"It is very unfair for finger spinners, who are not playing enough white-ball cricket because there is nothing for them. It is not right.

"The ICC's job is to ensure that everyone, whether a finger spinner, fast bowler, wrist spinner, or batter, has an equal opportunity to showcase their talents," said Gambhir, who recently mentored Kolkata Knight Riders during their run to the third IPL title.

Gambhir is also viewed as the frontrunner to become next India coach following Rahul Dravid's exit after the ongoing T20 World Cup.

The two-time IPL winning former skipper asked the ICC to have a review of the rule.

"Taking that opportunity away from certain players is very unfair. Today, you hardly see any finger spinners playing white-ball cricket. Why? The blame lies not with them, but with the ICC.

"There is no reverse swing anymore because of the two new balls, and there is nothing for finger spinners or left-arm spinners.

"This is something I would want to change, and hopefully, it will change to create a balance between bat and ball," added Gambhir.

Gambhir, who played under various captains, refrained from naming the best skipper, but hailed MS Dhoni and said the best phase of his career was under him.

"This is such a controversial question. I honestly don't want to give headlines, everyone had their strength and weaknesses. I made my Test debut under Rahul Dravid and ODI under (Sourav) Ganguly.

"I had my best performance under Anil Kumble and I had my phase under MS Dhoni, and the longest I played was under MS. I enjoyed playing a lot with MS and the way he led the team," he said.

Gambhir also hailed Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan as the best team owner in the IPL.

"I had the privilege of working with the best IPL owner."

Gautam Gambhir Urges ICC To Revisit This Rule, Says 'Unfair' For Finger Spinners | Cricket News

Gautam Gambhir urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to revisit the two new-ball rule in limited over formats, and the World Cup-winner termed it as "unfair" to finger spinners.

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[Justcrazy]

I think it will be very hard to sustain OD for ICC , a long hard discussion is required ion how to sustain this format

 

[Hitman]

It has helped ruin ODI cricket. Such a beautiful format it was before that rule was introduced.

 

[Mas-LFC]

No. Its made ODI an Extension of T20s.

 

[Mas-LFC]

How about one ball use from both innings for 20overs then ball change for next 30overs? 30overs with one ball with enable reverse swing and spin. First 20 with new ball will allow fast scoring chance.

Or 25-25, meaning one ball for 25ov then change ball for another 25ov.