Australian rule changes: How does it affect the game?
Cricket Australia has drastically changed the format of their domestic one-dayers. So, what are the changes and how does it affect the game of cricket as a whole?
45 overs per team with split innings of 20 and 25 overs:
This is the biggest change that has been made by the Australian cricket board. Instead of having one innings of 50 overs, they have gone ahead with splitting 45 overs into two innings. Basically, it is akin to a limited overs Test match. On paper, this looks like a big change, but it will be fair to say that this was on cards for some years now. There has been a lot of talk to introduce this change for almost a decade, and it is just that Australia has been the first to embrace it.
One would have liked to see the 25 overs-innings first and then the 20-over innings though.
A maximum of 12 overs by any one bowler:
One of the most excellent rule changes, that should be employed at the international level as well. Currently, in a 50-overs ODI, no bowler is allowed to bowl more than ten overs. This means that five frontline bowlers had to be used. In this day and age of bowlers breaking down at the drop of a hat, this rule allows the teams to go ahead with four frontline bowlers only and hence allow for a chance to rotate the bowling options in a series.
10 wickets per team and 12 players per team (teams can bat any 11 of the 12 and field any 11 of the 12):
One cannot fathom the rationale of this one. It is probably the continuation of the Super-Sub rule that had been introduced some time back, but had to be discontinued because it was not deemed to be feasible. Again, this is a rule that is used in first class games between the touring sides and the domestic teams, in order to allow more players of the touring party some practice before the start of a series. Besides, this rule may also add to the confusion for the spectators and statisticians.
A maximum of two bouncers per over:
Much like the 12-over rule, this is an excellent change. The bowlers will now have more say in the game than earlier, where they were just punching bags. Earlier, the bowlers were allowed only one bouncer per over, and this meant that once the bouncer had been bowled, the batsmen knew where the next few balls in the over would be pitched. This adds a weapon in the armoury of the fast bowlers, who had slowly started to become redundant in this format of the game.
A new ball from each end at the start of the innings and no replacement new balls:
In a way, this helps the cause of the batsmen. The newer ball will be easier to hit and hence, the spinners could be made redundant, given that the slower bowlers prefer the softer ball to exhibit their wares. And that is unfortunate, given that the fast bowlers have already been afforded a chance. One gets the feeling that this will make it difficult for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in the long run as they will fall short of producing spinners for the limited overs variety.
Fielding restrictions:
There are ten overs of fielding restrictions where only two players can be pushed back, whereas in the remaining 35, a maximum of four can be used outside the circle. This has been done to ensure that the game does not become dull during the so-called middle-overs, something that has slowed the game down in the past.
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