Surface tension at conclave

Ranji captains,coaches suggest uncovered pitches to spice up domestic cricket

The hackneyed discussion about the nature of pitches on the domestic circuit dominated the BCCI organised conclave for Ranji captains and coaches on Thursday. After four hours the major recommendation to emerge from the meeting was from a forgotten chapter from crickets history. The players and BCCI decision makers,including president N Srinivasan,more or less agreed that uncovered wickets could go a long way in spicing up domestic cricket.

Uncovered pitches were used across England and Australia till the late 1960s. The rule said that the wicket would be covered till the match begins and covers will not be used again once the first ball is bowled-regardless of the weather conditions including heavy rainfall. But while the radical suggestion did find many takers the logistics of administering it some believed was close to being improbable.

Though it is a very good suggestion,considering the demographics of the country its not something that can be carried out easily. You will need a different system for each of the zones as the amount of rainfall for example is so varying, explained a member,who was present at the enclave. Whether leaving the wickets uncovered in some centres like Rajkot or Indore-renowned as batting beauties- would even make a difference,is another discrepancy that the BCCIs technical committee will have to ponder on. And they will also have to ensure that uncovered wickets do not enhance the menace of doctored pitches,which has constantly reared its ugly head in the past few seasons.

Another suggestion made in lieu of bringing the fast bowlers,who will benefit greatly from uncovered wickets,into the domestic game was increasing the number of bouncers per over in four-day cricket from two to three.

I suggested three bouncers per over in first class games to help our cricketers improve their technique against short-pitched balls, said Bengal coach and former India opener WV Raman. The issue of scheduling too was discussed stringently,with the captains asking for an additional day in between matches for the sake of their players recuperating better. There was,however,also a suggestion made to have the Ranji Trophy league games on a home-and-away basis,and thus increasing the number of matches each team plays. In addition the captains and coaches seconded the technical committees recommendations made in February of hosting the knockout matches of the Ranji Trophy at neutral venues. They also believed that the matches at the business end of the tournament should be five-day affairs.

Among other suggestions were using Kookaburra balls across tournaments in contrast to the present,where they are used only for the Duleep Trophy. There was also a consensus regarding the zonal four-day tournament to become the curtain-raiser for the domestic season,and for it to be played on a league basis.

The points system for the Ranji Trophy too came up for discussion,with Raman insisting that it become more oriented towards rewarding outright wins. Uncovered wickets could go a long way on that front,and it was received quite positively by the board,he added.