The league stage of ODI World Cup 2023 has concluded and the tournament has not reached it’s knockout stage. In the first semi-final, hosts India will be taking on New Zealand on Wednesday while South Africa will be squaring off against Australia in the second second semi-final match on Thursday. Amid the ongoing ICC event, former Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis came up with an interesting suggestion regarding the council’s rule of using two new balls in the ODI cricket.
Waqar stated that the playing conditions in the 50-over format are too batter friendly and suggested that one of the tow new balls should be taken away after 30 overs and the remaining 20 overs should be bowled with the old ball.
“ODI cricket is too friendly for batters Suggestion @ICC2 new balls to start, take away 1 ball after 30 overs, continue with the other. At the end that ball will only be 3. 5 overs old. We’ll see some reverse at the end. Save the art of #ReverseSwing,” wrote Waqar on X.
ODI cricket is too friendly for batters Suggestion @ICC 2 new balls to start, take away 1 ball after 30 overs, continue with the other. At the end that ball will only be 35 overs old. We’ll see some reverse at the end. Save the art of #ReverseSwing Comments please. pic.twitter.com/TQs5EZJy9Y
— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) November 13, 2023
Earlier, Australia star pacer Mitchell Starc also slammed the two new-ball rule, stating that one ball helps the bowlers with their reverse swing.
“I still think it should be one ball not two…The ball stays harder for longer. As we’ve seen here, the grounds are quite small, wickets are flat. If anything in world cricket wickets have gotten flatter and I think if you look at some of that old footage when they bowled with one ball, reverse swing comes into it a lot more. That actually brings the bowlers back into the game, and I don’t think it’s any secret that one-day cricket and probably T20 cricket as well is a batter’s game and bowlers just have to hang on,” Starc was quoted by Cricbuzz.
“Whether it changes or not or maybe it changes after I’m finished. But yeah, it definitely takes a little bit longer to find reverse swing. It’s not to say that it’s all gone. There’s certainly wickets or grounds that can create that reverse swing. I think just because of the two new balls at the start, I don’t think the balls swings any longer. They swing at the start and unless conditions suit, they don’t swing for very long at all. If anything they stay nicer for batsmen towards the end,” he added.
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