Should ODI Cricket Go Back To Using Just One Ball ? Tendulkar Says Yes, Virat Backs His Idol

Sachin's this reaction came after England batsmen made a mockery of Australian bowlers by smashing them all over the park at Trent Bridge

By: Karan Nanda |
June 22, 2018 4:51 pm

Days after the England cricket team created history by scoring the highest runs in ODI cricket (481-6) against Australia, former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar has sparked a debate saying that using two new balls in the ODIs was a ‘recipe for disaster’.

Sachin, who played over 200 Tests and 463 ODIs for India, took to his Twitter handle to share his opinion. He wrote: “Having 2 new balls in one day cricket is a perfect recipe for disaster as each ball is not given the time to get old enough to reverse. We haven’t seen reverse swing, an integral part of the death overs, for a long time. #ENGvsAUS.”

Having 2 new balls in one day cricket is a perfect recipe for disaster as each ball is not given the time to get old enough to reverse. We haven’t seen reverse swing, an integral part of the death overs, for a long time. #ENGvsAUS

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 21, 2018

This reaction from Tendulkar came after England batsmen made a mockery of Australian bowlers by smashing them all over the park at Trent Bridge.

England went on to score 481 with a loss of just 6 wickets. During the innings, England also created a record for hitting the most boundaries hit in an ODI with 62. The previous mark of 59 was held by England and Sri Lanka.

England won the game by 242 runs.

Former legendary Pakistani speedster, Waqar Younis backed the ‘Little Master’ and wrote: “Reason why we don’t produce many attacking fast bowlers..They all very defensive in their approach…always looking for change ups..totally agree with you @sachin_rt reverse swing is almost vanished,” Younis tweeted.

Reason why we don’t produce many attacking fast bowlers..They all very defensive in their approach…always looking for change ups..totally agree with you @sachin_rt reverse swing is almost vanished.. #SAD https://t.co/hPHoMXujcr

— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) June 21, 2018

Besides Waqar, Indian captain Virat Kohli, too, backed Tendulkar saying, “ It’s brutal for the bowlers.”

“I think it’s brutal for the bowlers. I have played ODI cricket when there was only one new ball allowed and reverse swing used to be a massive factor in the latter half of the innings, which I think as a batsman was more challenging,” Kohli said before leaving for England tour.

Back in 2011, International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport’s governing body, introduced the new rule of using two new balls. This rule came into force after many fans were finding overs between 15 and 40 boring.

The rule for changing the ball after 25 years came into force in October 2011. Since then, the bowlers, especially spinners, are finding it difficult to curtail the batsmen in limited over games.

Considering the latest trends in ODI scoring rate, the day is not far when we will witness 500 runs on board.