Chronicle Editor
Cape Town — Proteas great, Jacques Kallis, believes that ODI cricket should have its rules tweaked to favour the bowlers a little bit more.
The 43-year-old former allrounder has been working as an ICC ambassador during the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and in his latest offering on the ICC website he highlights that bowlers need to brought back into ODI cricket.
Kallis has called for the powerplay rules to change. As thing stand, bowlers are allowed four fielders outside of the ring between overs 11 and 40.
“I do feel there needs to be one or two little tweaks going forward, because I think bowlers are really finding it tough on good wickets when they are under pressure,” he said.
“So the old format when after 10 overs you’re allowed five fielders outside the circle, I think the bowlers do need that option, especially the spin bowlers.
“That’s the one tweak I would like to see in the one-day game, give the bowlers something back. The wickets shouldn’t always be 350-plus wickets as well.
“Sometimes you have to find a balance between bat and ball and give the bowlers something to work with, especially with the new ball to make those first few overs a bit tougher.
“That will give the bowlers a little bit more of a chance in those early overs and force the batting teams to play a bit smarter in that period of the game.
“It is important that there is that balance between bat and ball in one-day cricket and by having that extra fielder out, by having wickets that offer the bowlers a little bit of something.
“Otherwise who wants to be a bowler? It’s hard work as it is and that’s why keeping that balance is vital so each guy gets a fair opportunity to showcase his skills.”
Looking back on the tournament as a whole, though, Kallis believed it was a superb advertisement for ODI cricket.
“I do believe people are really excited that 50-over cricket is still getting supported the way it is, certainly we could make one-day series not as long as they sometimes are,” he said. — Sport24.
Online Reporter