Chairman, England and Wales Cricket Board

Dear Mr. Chairman

For a country that has long lost its status as an opinion leader, one was quite shocked to read that your board has decided to completely do away with the 50 over format starting the next domestic season. This may be a commentary on the sad state of the game in your country, but this momentous decision has triggered some intense reactions across the globe among experienced crickters and novices alike. While Shane Warne largely agrees with your stand on the format, Sachin Tendulkar wants the game to be played as two innings of 25 overs each to negate the effect of the toss and pitch conditions, which is not a bad thought as it were. The latest to join the bandwagon is the recently retired Anil Kumble, who believes the game should be reduced to 40 overs a side (which if pushed a bit harder is nothing but the T20 format)!

There have of course been murmurs of cynicism for almost a year now. Ever since a certain Lalit Modi's brainchild succeeded in attracting the best talent from across the world to a circus called IPL, tongues have been wagging. The lure of the dollar has been far stronger than the call of the nation for many a hero. The commercial interests for this format of course stems from the fact that its all over in a hurry, enabling the TV viewer to move on to other things in life. We live in an era of absolute attention deficit you see. And it is only ironical that the ODI format for long has allegedly threatened the original one - Test cricket!

That Test cricket will apparently survive all such threats is what experts seem to believe. I would say it is wishful thinking. We forget that there is still a set of unadulterated followers that deifies the 5 day version. This set keeps the game alive, enjoys a series of maiden overs in a row and follows the Ashes like nothing else matters. Sadly the set is getting older. It is only a matter of time before it vanishes completely leaving the game in the hands of the quick-fix generation.

But this is not about Test cricket, the eldest brother, who shall we say is, at least getting along for the time being. And it is not about the youngest one T20either, who is enjoying all the attention and adulation as it were. It is about the confused middle brother, ODI, LOI, 50 over cricket, call it what you will.

As I mentioned to you right at the begining, your decision to write this format off is quite a momentous one. One only wonders if you could not have thought this through, perhaps discussed it with the ICC, other boards or some wise men of the game before jumping the gun. Did you, for instance, think about what was it that was ailing the game? And therefore about making relevant changes the rules to make it more enagaging and giving it a chance to survive as opposed to hastening its burial?

Here is my humble analysis. While the format suddenly looks copiously long compared to the T20 version, there is still a lot left in it. The first 15 overs can make for many enagaging moments with the field restrictions, while the last 10 can get some great action with bats being thrown around. It is the middle that is the problem. And has always been. Powerplays notwithstanding. How often have we seen the game settle down into a predictable array of dot balls, singles down to long on, drive to sweeper cover and glance down to fine leg in that period of 15-40. Clearly, that is the phase where the fielding is now spread and wickets can't be lost in a jiffy. And this is perhaps the phase that is killing the game. The need of the hour is therefore to create some exciting moments here, which look rather difficult with the current rules. It is now time to shake the game up, get in some discontinuity and bring back the viewers.

As drastic and dramatic as it may sound, here is a set of suggestions that addresses the above.

1. As opposed to the 'maximum' quota of 10 overs, bring in a 'minimum' quota, by which every player except the wicket keeper has to bowl at least 3 overs each! What a sight it would be when Andrew Strauss, Gautam Gambhir or Ricky Ponting turns his arm over!

As a variation, create a 10 over block in the middle of the innings, starting the 16th over, called the 'Total 10'. Here, every player in the fielding side, barring the wicket keeper, bowls one and only one over - in any sequence that the captain deems fit. This of course is part of the quota of 10 overs that any bowler can bowl.

Imagine 'negative runs'(reduction in the score and not only for bad overrate). The next set of proposed rules involve that.

2. To keep the pressure on the engagement levels, the run flow and therefore on the batsman, after the Total 10, every set of 3 consecutive dot balls calls for a negative run to the batsman and therefore to the batting side. Added advantage - imagine a batsman, well settled, playing with No.10, trying to play out the first 5 balls and taking a single off the last ball. Would he want to do that again!


3. The non-striker can trade positions with his partner and take strike. But this would be at the cost of negative 2 runs from the total every time this happens. Again imagine, last ball, 2 runs to win. Ishant Sharma on strike, Yuvraj the non-striker. Will Yuvraj back himself to score 2+2 = 4 runs and trade places or let Ishant try a couple?

As a variation of the above, when a batsman gets out, he can choose to bat again in place of another one, but with a preagreed number of runs reduced from the total.

4. To keep the chase dynamic and balanced, runs can be bartered for wickets. At the end of 25 overs, the 2 captains quickly consult and agree on a revised target (provided both agree). Let me explain. If a side chasing 320 is 140/3 after 25 runs, it can 'offer' 2 wickets for 30 runs. And bring the revised total down to 290, with now only 5 wickets in hand.

These are just a few thoughts. As I said some of these may sound drastic, preposterous even. But hope you see the point. Which is that all is not lost. The 50 over format will survive; it just needs some deep thinking and fixing. But quite quickly at that.

Of course, I know that this is now left to other countries and is clearly beyond you now since you have other issues to chase. Your country has successfully helped create the world's first 'freelance' cricketer, wonder where that one is going now...