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Too Many Dew-affected Matches for Cricketing Comfort of Fielding Sides

I don’t to nitpick but the fact is that the number of ODI matches that are turning one-sided affairs with immense disadvantage to side bowling in the evening/night are rising at an alarming rate. It is not something new as such — dew has always been a factor particularly in the sub-continental conditions where the ground conditions do tend to change once the ground develops a hard-to-counter wet blanket. However, what is surprising is that even though so many captains have complained about this issue, the ICC remains unmoved. It seems that the motive behind this calculated ignorance has been fuelled by the BCCIwhom we all know as a money-making, cash-obsessed cricketing body that rules the roost of international cricketing fixtures. As day-night matches do tend to provide more excitement and bring-in more spectators to the ground and the viewership is substantially higher than all-day ODI matches, it isn't hard to understand why the BCCI and then the ICC have turned a blind eye towards this issue. However, it would like to say that rather than eradicating or limiting day-night encounters in this part of the world, what needs to be done is finding more solutions. Yes, the answers are difficult since there is no practical escape from dewdrops that tend to descend and rise in volume with every passing minute. However, there could be a system wherein the bowling side is provided the option of using more ball — I mean more than the normal number of ball changes to ensure that the side isn't left struggling with a wet, slippery ball with which the bowlers are rendered useless. The current tri-series in Dhaka is another example of this wherein the bowlers are struggling horribly to hold the seam once the ball gets run on the wet outfield.

1 comment:

  1. Instead of going to the extreme of repeatedly changing the ball throughout the innings, why not simply have day matches with a bit of delayed start. That way the dew is negated and the early morning moisture related problems are also solved. Why to complicate things when easier solutions are possible??

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