DISCLAIMER: LONG POST So the ToI centrepage article is demanding a ban on bouncers in the sport of cricket. This is the sort of puerile mentality that manifests itself in various bodies and ideologies these days. Ban this, block that and that should solve the problem. Right? Wrong. Banning bouncers will kill cricket. And test cricket, instantaneously. There is already a problem with fast bowling around the world. Only Dale Steyn compares to the legendary fast bowlers of the past. The others are ordinary. Though such a move(bouncer-ban) would undoubtedly benefit the south-asian block which has traditionally struggled against the short delivery, it would hurt the quality of cricket tremendously. We would then have to be ok with watching batting, not cricket. There are *legitimate discussions* to be had about the nature of helmets, not about bouncers. In the past there have been cases of the ball hitting the grill, which in turn has bounced up and hit the batsmans face. Yes, grill hitting head. Scope for improvement exists here. There are caps on the number of bouncers allowed per over already. Killing the sport which at its core in a technical sense is a contest between bat and ball, is not a solution. Because that is exactly what will happen when you stack the odds so much in the favour of the batsman. Batting & bowling averages & strike rates, economy rates, have increased rapidly in the last decade or two. Batsman charge fast bowlers now with an amazing consistency. Little guys like Gambhir do it. If you condemn pace bowlers to only bowling good length and fuller, that will be it. As a perennially drunk seeming Bollywood actor and part-time criminal would put it, Khel Khallas. Yes, ideally no one should die while playing a sport. But, this happens. In sport, as in life outside it. You could have the most mundane, seemingly risk-free job in the world and die while doing it. And specifically on the issue of deaths in sport, there have been few and far between in the sport of cricket. Do we ban running in football because people have had cardiac arrests while playing that sport? Do we ban tackles in rugby? Do we ban big left hooks in boxing because people have suffered great physical damage because of the same? No, I dont want a free for all, but the rules as they are now, sufficiently lend themselves to safety for sportspersons. Let me end by saying the following: Phil Hughes a dashing young batsman in the Sehwag mould, like 100% of international cricketers, wouldnt have wanted bouncers to be banned.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 06:21:14 +0000
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