Rein bats in to make cricket an even contest

The astounding innings from AB de Villiers that reduced West Indies’ bowlers to rubble is just the latest, if the most violent, in a sequence that is taking fast scoring in all formats to a different level. In November Rohit Sharma scored 264 from 173 balls for India against Sri Lanka, obliterating by 45 runs the ODI record set by Virender Sehwag. Then shortly after Christmas, in Christchurch, and also against Sri Lanka, Brendon McCullum, with 195 from 134 balls, was within a couple of yards of beating by a distance his compatriot Nathan Astle’s already remarkable 154-ball record for the fastest Test match double hundred. And now De Villiers scores 149 from 44 balls, sweeping the board with all sorts of ODI records including fastest 100, from 31 balls. It almost needs a second look to make sure that a digit has not been omitted from the front. The Wanderers is habitually high-scoring, with a fine pitch, short boundaries and, at almost 1,800m elevation, it is the highest international ground. Golfers who play on the Wanderers course behind the stand at one end will say that you can take 10% from distances for clubbing purposes (see metres and think in yards). The average ODI score in the past four years is 363. This tells only part of the story, however. Techniques, innovations and a spirit of adventure gained from Twenty20 cricket have found their way into the longer forms of the game. Fielding restrictions, the draconian rule on wides and the limit on bouncers, have hampered bowlers almost to an unfair degree so that damage limitation becomes a default position all too readily. Boundary ropes have crept in, first to prevent injury from perimeter fences, then to provide camera positions and, more insidiously, to ensure that the game produces an ever-increasing number of sixes. When a competition such as the IPL actually has sixes sponsored, then clearly there is a commercial imperative: the more sixes, the more exposure, the more television airtime and thus more income. No one there is going to advocate a reduction. Always, though, the debate returns to bats. Modern high-end blades bear little relation to those of even a decade ago. The bludgeons in use now are habitually described as “heavy” and that is a misnomer. These blades have volume but reduced density whether through the absence of moisture, a lack of pressing or both. They are disposable implements, produced for effectiveness rather than durability. The massive expansion of the sweet spot ensures that what were once mis-hits now also carry, so there are almost exponentially more year on year. A solution, if there needs to be one, is clear: rein the bats in through legislation, in terms not of weight but of dimension, so that the edges have a maximum thickness and there is a maximum depth. It is simple really but is unlikely to happen. Above all, though, those who run the game, both at international and at domestic level, do not see a problem but rather an asset. Close, low-scoring contests are all very well but nothing beats a run-fest.