Harder to Get than Salman’s Accent

There are more knots and loops in the rules of cricket today than the game itself

Yuvraj Singh was addressing the media after India’s win over Ireland on Sunday. He was asked about the Umpire Decision Referral System (UDRS), through which he got the wicket of Ireland’s Alex Cusack.

“I don’t understand it. It was on (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni’s advice that we asked for it,” said Yuvraj. On Tuesday in Delhi, Dhoni said he utilised his referrals because “we can’t take them home”.

If the UDRS puzzles cricketers, imagine the plight of spectators. Cricket is becoming harder to get than Salman Khan’s accent.

After the India-Ireland match, it was understood that the controversial 2.5 metre rule, where the ball is required to hit the player no more than 2.5 metres in front of the stumps, had been discontinued. Turns out, that is not the case. Dave Richardson, the ICC’s General Manager, Cricket, clarified that the 2.5 metre rule still exists. In fact, now it has a demon child, the 40 cm rule. This concerns the distance between the spot where the ball pitches and where it hits the batsman. This distance cannot be less than 40 cm. And within these rules there are sub-rules. The day is not far when only Indian Institute of Technology graduates can become umpires.

The UDRS is only the latest example of the game’s habit of coming up with innovations that are well-intentioned but perplexing. There was the Duckworth/ Lewis rule before this. Jerry Lewis made people laugh. Duckworth/Lewis made them weep. The ‘best-score overs’ system predates D/L, and famously did in South Africa in the 1992 World Cup semifinal against England.

In 2005, we got Powerplay. Its purpose was to rid the boredom that sets in the middle overs. Fair enough. But now there are bowling Powerplays and one batting Powerplay, which is taken by the team batting. There is also a change in the number of fielders outside the 30-yard circle. In the first Powerplay, two fielders are allowed outside the circle. In the second and third, three. This is to balance the scales a bit for the bowlers. Fair enough again. But one more in a long grocery list of things to remember.

There are also more circles in the middle, in addition to the 30-yarder. All I know is these have something to do with catching positions. I read the rule. But it was too much trouble. No wonder Dhoni’s hair is greying at an impressive strike rate.

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Akshay Sawai