Beyond the boundary, to beat ICC’S clock police
NEW DELHI: Some are legal and some are not, but every innovative step teams take to gain that edge adds spice when it comes to a World Cup. This time the focus is on holders and hosts Australia, who may have shown the way for other teams as well to beat ICC’S penalty for slow play in T20s.
Slow over rate is seen as a serious offence, and ICC felt fines were not having the desired effect. Instead, if a team does not start the 20th over by the 85th minute, one of the five fielders normally allowed outside the 30-yard circle will be forced to come in. It can lead to a spurt in scoring that can make all the difference between winning or losing.
Australia have focused on gaining time in the powerplay overs, by posting players and staff outside the rope to quickly pick and throw if a boundary is hit, according to a tweet by cricket.com.au. It posted comments by Aussie all-rounder Ashton Agar explaining it.
“In the powerplay, the ball flies around and you lose time when players have to fetch it, which is a part of cricket. So the time thing is really difficult to manage.
“I guess stationing the guys who are on the bench around the ground, does it save 10 seconds here and there potentially? And that all adds up at the end of the day. It is not giving you an advantage... I think it is commonsense in the powerplay to do that because you don’t have guys out there fielding on the fence,” Agar said in the video clip.
It is likely that other teams also adapt this tactic, especially with a sizeable number of support staff travelling these days.
Not all innovations have been met with approval. At the 1999 ODI World Cup, South Africa skipper Hansie Cronje’s ear-piece for communicating with coach Bob Woolmer during a match was barred by ICC.
Sri Lanka’s switching captaincy between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene during tournaments to avoid any ban on the skipper for slow rate rates stopped after ICC ruled that the designated skipper would be responsible for all infringements.*