Get rid of toss in Tests: Steve Waugh

Sydney: Steve Waugh has backed calls from fellow former Australia captain Ricky Ponting and West Indies great Michael Holding for cricket chiefs to rid Test cricket of the toss.

Under Ponting’s proposal, suggested during the recent Ashes series in England, the away side would choose who bats first in order to counteract any advantage the hosts may gain from preparing a pitch that suits them best.

Waugh said he was open to the radical idea. “I don’t mind that, I think that’s not such a bad thing,” Australian Associated Press quoted him as saying. “At the end of the day I think there’s probably too much emphasis placed on the toss and the conditions away from home. I don’t mind the authorities looking at some other options.” Holding also favours change.