Marsh says the money in the game needed to be better utilised to help it to grow
Rod Marsh
London: Rod Marsh has backed experimenting with allowing the legalisation of ball tampering in order to address the balance between bat and ball in the modern game. Marsh offered the suggestion during his 2015 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, backing-up calls along a similar line from former South Africa batsman and contemporary Barry Richards.
“It would allow the ball to reverse swing and give the bowlers more chance on some of the flat pitches around the world,” Marsh told a sell-out audience in the Lord’s Nursery Pavilion.
“I recall seeing footage of players rubbing the ball on the pitch when a second new ball had been taken in years gone by to allow the spinners to grip it better. That law has certainly changed and I for one would be happy for it to be reintroduced on an experimental basis.”
During the panel discussion hosted my Mark Nicholas later in the evening, Marsh reiterated his stance, and said that he would keep the current system of using two new balls (one at each end) in ODIs.
His fellow panellists, England Test skipper Alastair Cook and ex-Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene were less keen on the idea however, with Cook claiming he failed to hit a tampered ball for two months during Marsh’s stint as England Academy supremo. Marsh also reckoned cricket should place greater restrictions on the size and power of bats. Among other proposed changes to the game, Marsh argued for the return of the back foot no-ball law, and the reduction in the DRS to remove ball-tracking technology for lbw decisions.
( Source : agencies )
Next Story
