ICC panel decides to keep toss in Tests
10 YEARS SHOW TOSS DIDN’T AFFECT INDIA AT HOME
NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Cricket Committee has decided not to abolish the toss before a Test match, in a key issue debated at its two-day meeting in Mumbai that ended on Tuesday.
The panel headed by former India skipper Anil Kumble considered an issue that has been debated by former stalwarts of the game to prevent home teams from preparing pitches that overwhelmingly favour them.
“The Committee discussed whether the toss should be automatically awarded to the visiting team but felt that it was an integral part of Test cricket which forms part of the narrative of the game,” an ICC statement said.
“However, in acknowledging For former world number 1 Serena Williams, who returned to the court for the first time in over 15 months after becoming a mother, the case is yet to be argued. The American star, winner of 23 Grand Slam titles defeated Czech Kristyna Pliskova in the
French Open first round on Tuesday. We highlight some of the women who have come back to the court after becoming mothers.
Winning the toss
that the preparation of Test pitches could provide a risk to the competitiveness of the World Test Championship, the panel urged members to continue to focus on pitches that provide a better balance between bat and ball in line with ICC regulations.”
The suggestion over doing away with toss was to let the visiting skipper decide whether to bat
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or bowl. A ‘yes’ vote would have meant removing one of the integral aspects of Test cricket since it began in 1877.
Former internationals, including Ricky Ponting and Michael Holding, had favoured doing away with the toss to ensure a more level-playing field as Test cricket gasps for survival with Twenty20 soaring in popularity. The Aussie legend won 24 Grand Slam titles in her career; one more than Serena’s tally. She won 21 Grand
Slams before taking a break in 1971 & 1972 to give birth to her first child. The Belgian gave birth to daughter Jada in 2008 before returning as an unranked player in 2009, to win US Open. Won two more before quitting.
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However, it had been acknowledged that there would be opposition to abolishing the toss, especially because the drama around it was a big draw for broadcasters. With the ICC Test Championship to kick off with the 2019 Ashes series between England and Australia, the panel has recommended a points system for the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee The Australian had already won three consecutive Australian Open titles from 1974-76, a French Open and a Wimbledon before she decided to take a break late in 1976. The Belarusian-turned-american gave birth to son Leo last December before returning to the tour in June. Since then, she reached fourth round of Wimbledon. to consider.
“Based on the principle of simplicity and every match needing to count, the committee recommended that points should only be awarded for each match and not a series win. As part of this, it was proposed that there was a draw-win ratio of 0.33:1, so a draw gives each team a third of the available points.”
The panel proposed a rest day for the Lord’s final in 2023.
The panel has recommended more stringent punishment for ball-tampering, without giving details. The issue flared up after Australia’s Cameron Bancroft was caught in the act during the Cape Town Test against South Africa in March. The panel has backed creating new rules to punish offensive behaviour and wants a Code of Respect to be put in place.