Flem274*
123/5
Lots of criticism about how high scoring it is, but imo it has only been ridiculous when the teams leading the way come up against the sides stuck in 2005.
The two new rule ball is awesome. It encourages aggressive bowling tactics, especially since those balls are nice to hit at the death because they're still hard. More swing for longer.
Wickets in hand are rewarded, but it's still possible to hit out early in the innings if you're good enough. The four semi finalists make batting look impossible when they bowl and bowling look impossible when they bat because they know what they're doing and they have the team structure and plan to do it.
The only area where the game is a bit unbalanced is you know if a side gets through to the 35th with wickets in hand, the bowlers are going to cop it. On one hand, I think so they bloody well should be smoked for not taking wickets but I see that you need the fielding side to have a chance to come back at any point.
Death bowling has fallen behind a bit because of that nice hard ball and the fielder rule. Starc is the best death bowler in the world because 150kph swinging yorkers transcend rule changes. Pakistan found some reverse at times (let's face it, it was bottle caps. 20 over old balls don't reverse in Oceania).
For your every day 130-140kph swing or seam bowler though death bowling is something they need to rethink and they will. They will cotton on to it. A lot of it will probably be just outthinking the batsman and sensing what he's going to do.
I do love though how good cricket (conservation of wickets being rewarded, excellent early overs hitting against the moving ball, aggressive new ball bowling, picking five proper bowlers) gets rewarded in the new format.
These days you need four or five cakes in the top five, five bowlers resembling bowlers and not paul collingwood or nathan astle, strike bowlers and a proper spinner. Rank sloggers get owned if they bat too high in the order. Fielding is getting better and better all the time.
We've had 300 v 300 and 250 v 250 and 220 or whatever it was v 180 at this WC alone. A lot of the whinging about ODIs has come whenever a lesser team has run into SA, Aussie, NZ or India and been pulverised.
I love modern ODI cricket. Haters can suck it.
The two new rule ball is awesome. It encourages aggressive bowling tactics, especially since those balls are nice to hit at the death because they're still hard. More swing for longer.
Wickets in hand are rewarded, but it's still possible to hit out early in the innings if you're good enough. The four semi finalists make batting look impossible when they bowl and bowling look impossible when they bat because they know what they're doing and they have the team structure and plan to do it.
The only area where the game is a bit unbalanced is you know if a side gets through to the 35th with wickets in hand, the bowlers are going to cop it. On one hand, I think so they bloody well should be smoked for not taking wickets but I see that you need the fielding side to have a chance to come back at any point.
Death bowling has fallen behind a bit because of that nice hard ball and the fielder rule. Starc is the best death bowler in the world because 150kph swinging yorkers transcend rule changes. Pakistan found some reverse at times (let's face it, it was bottle caps. 20 over old balls don't reverse in Oceania).
For your every day 130-140kph swing or seam bowler though death bowling is something they need to rethink and they will. They will cotton on to it. A lot of it will probably be just outthinking the batsman and sensing what he's going to do.
I do love though how good cricket (conservation of wickets being rewarded, excellent early overs hitting against the moving ball, aggressive new ball bowling, picking five proper bowlers) gets rewarded in the new format.
These days you need four or five cakes in the top five, five bowlers resembling bowlers and not paul collingwood or nathan astle, strike bowlers and a proper spinner. Rank sloggers get owned if they bat too high in the order. Fielding is getting better and better all the time.
We've had 300 v 300 and 250 v 250 and 220 or whatever it was v 180 at this WC alone. A lot of the whinging about ODIs has come whenever a lesser team has run into SA, Aussie, NZ or India and been pulverised.
I love modern ODI cricket. Haters can suck it.
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