WPL pushing boundaries!
Bengaluru, March 19: Shafali Verma shimmied down the track and deposited off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner’s slotball on the off-stump 91 metres over wide longon for a six, the longest of this year’s Women’s Premier League.
That nearly 20 seconds of explosive moment underlined the fastevolving landscape of women’s cricket — the increasing infiltration of power and fitness.
But it has also accentuated the talk about the possibility of stretching the boundary perimeter similar to that in men’s cricket. “Yeah, we have seen some big sixes getting hit this year in the WPL, and a lot of chat is going on about pushing back the boundary lines (in the tournament). The increasing power limit of players is obvious, thanks to their focus on fitness.
“But for that (increasing the length of boundary), detailed discussion with players, coaches etc is needed as ultimately, they have the biggest say in matters related to playing conditions,” a BCCI official said on condition of anonymity.
Irrespective of the future course of action, there is a lot of merit in the argument to standardise the boundary size in women’s and men’s cricket, considering the players’ increasing ability to clear the ropes.
The WPL 2023 saw a total of 159 sixes.
The normal boundary lengths at the Chinnaswamy, where the first part of this iteration of WPL was held, are 64-63m on the square of the wicket, 76-68m in the ‘V’ towards the media box while 56m on either flank behind the wicketkeeper. But during the WPL, the shortest boundary mark was shrunk to 47 metres, and it had made the task of captains harder as batters comfortably cleared that distance.