10 Things I'd Like to Change About Cricket

Here are my suggestions for making the game more challenging, invigorating & appealing.

1) Test Matches:

Each day should comprise of 75 overs with three sessions of 25 overs each. The game must begin at 3 p.m. and last for approximately five hours, allowing for better viewership both at the ground, and on television. Matches must be played from Wednesday through Sunday, making the weekends all the more exciting. The new ball should be due after 60 overs, instead of 80, making for an intriguing last one hour under floodlights.

I'm not one to undermine the supremacy of the longest form, but there is an urgent need for it to compete with the new versions of cricket. Lets get over the nostalgia associated with "the good ol' days," or "the original version must not be tampered."

2) Teams chasing in ODIs & T20s should win by the no. of overs remaining:

The "won by x number of wickets" is a legacy of the days when Tests were the only form of cricket. In a tight chase—12 required of the last over, and the winning runs are hit of the penultimate ball—the result "Won by 3 wickets" sounds grossly incongruous.

3) Batting statistics must include a component for "deviation" from the average, to provide an indication of the number of times a batsman has scored above or below his mean number of runs per dismissal.

4) The LBW rule relating to the ball pitching outside the leg-stump should be relaxed for left-arm bowlers bowling over-the-wicket to the right-hander and right-arm bowlers bowling over-the-wicket to left-handed batsmen.

5) Wicket-keepers' statistics must be expanded to include a measure of the number of runs saved doing the normal job of collecting the ball left alone by the batsman. This will provide a better means to evaluate the contribution of the neglected breed. Bonus points may be provided for takes down the leg-side, which are by far the hardest.

6) Anil Kumble has often lauded the contributions of Venkatpathy Raju & Rajesh Chauhan from the mid-to-late 90s. The former was a slow left-hander while the latter, an off-spinner. Together they comprised the spinning trio, and were a throwback to the days of Bedi-Prasanna-Chandra. Kumble has suggested a means of recording bowling partnerships, in a way similar to batting partnerships—the key stats being the obvious ones of runs conceded and wickets taken.

7) Fielding points for runs saved.  Of course outfielders in Test matches will end up saving a lot of runs, since a single upon a mis-field turns into a boundary—but there can be a denominator implying whether the fielder is standing within the 30-yard circle or outside it. This measure should help evaluate a player's fielding skills, and also give more incentive for them to focus more on this aspect of the game.

8)The role of the television umpire be expanded.  I'd go as far as to suggest that they completely replace the on-field umpires.  The men-in-white were the best means to obtain fair judgments when the sport began. At the end of the day, they are only ancillary to the contest between bat and ball. If better technology is available to ensure accurate decisions, it must be utilized. It does make for a humorous situation though, when the bowler will instinctively turn around to appeal for an LBW! And whom does he hand his cap, glasses and watch to?

9) Just as the captain, and key performer, ritually head-off to the press room after each day's play, they must also cater to their fanatical supporters by spending some time signing bats, shirts and clicking pics with them. For this, it is necessary to make a provision for a Fan Room wherein they must head-to after the presentation ceremony. Public entry into the room can be regulated by factoring it into the match tickets. For instance, a limited number of Fan room coupons can be made optional to purchase with every ticket.

10) Any-one remember the Super-sub rule of the 2005-06 ODI season. I thought it added a dimension to the game by allowing sides to play an extra batsman/bowler depending on their circumstances. Teams should be allowed to name their super-sub after the toss, rather than before it to permit flexibility.