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Free Hit Rule
makes Cricket look hilarious! |
A Feature by Syed Ahsan Ali
on July 15, 2007
Would you ever go to a boxing match where one
opponent has all in his power to floor his
opponent and the other boxer has his hands tied
to his back? Obviously most people will say no
for that kind of recreation where one party
takes all the advantage. Then we should decide
right now whether we agree to witness an affair
similar to this kind of contest on the cricket
fields because the cricket governing body ICC is
ready to try an innovation of free hit on
bowling a no ball in a 50 over game.
Having knowledge about what has
happened to the game because of having the rules
like bouncer restriction, field restrictions,
power-plays, now this free hit trial will make
the game highly insipid and one-sided which any
sport can ill-afford to adopt. One Day
Internationals consider being a forum which
attracts more crowds in the grounds and audience
on Tele round the clock and round the globe. One
Day format is seen by many as a highly lucrative
money making opportunity, but 2007 cricket’s
biggest bonanza World Cup yielded what kind of
excitement and interest all across the globe was
enough to ring alarm bells for the people
sitting in the drawing and conference rooms at
the head office of International Cricket
Council. But unfortunately the most bizarrely
managed tournament in the history of cricketing
fraternity failed to instigate the custodians of
the game to re-look at the game structuring
which is going heavily lop-sided for the
bowlers.
One excellent remark came from Denis Lillee on
this ridiculous thought process that next in
line would be the Yorkers. How far you can go to
make this game just as an earning option? It is
an earning option, but it has several other
factors as well attached to it as the value fans
can get out of this game by witnessing an even
contest rather than merciless show of power from
firm-footed, heavy-batted machos(batsmen). There
is no point in going to a game where you know
one party will have a ball while the other fails
to even notify its presence. Crap Hollywood
action flicks are better than this; even Jean
Claude Van Damme has to receive far more punches
from the villains than batsmen will get misses
outside off-stumps if this free hit rule becomes
a living reality.
Cricket should have been a spectacle between two
even parties. No one would find it interesting
to watch a man running from 20 yards and then
getting tonked away for boundaries or sixers
every over. Cricket is already losing too many
of its fans due to umpteenth scandals and
rubbish money-mongering attitude and lack of
competition between the teams, now don’t make it
ridiculous even more with this hilarious free
hit idea.
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