http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-08-27- ... up-the-odi
I'm not too sure though, this might end up becoming a drag, and if played on placid subcontinental wickets, this could end up as 10 sets of back to back death over spells, with carnage against the bowlersRadlett Cricket Club has a long and proud history, but the little piece of classic Hertfordshire countryside to the north of London won't have seen anything like the two games it will stage on September 6 and 7. They may not look like much on paper, but they could change international cricket forever.
A "solution" to the increasingly vexed question of how to revive one-day cricket has eluded the game's greatest brains up to now and, although very few people with power or influence will actually say it, 40- or 50-over cricket is going the way of flared trousers and lava lamps.
However, the reversal of that trend could start with the two games at Radlett that will try out a method of playing one-day cricket that retains all the key components of "authentic" cricket and even does away with some recently introduced gimmicks -- yet is so radically different that it may blow the minds of even the most progressive fans.
Think of tennis. How popular would that sport be if Roger Federer were given 300 serves against Rafael Nadal with a point at stake for each one and then Nadal replied with 300 serves of his own? Yet that's what cricket does. Limited-overs cricket is the only sport in the world in which nobody knows who's winning until near the end.
Here's the alternative for a 50-over match: Team A bats for 10 overs and then Team B bats for 10 overs. They then swap over and Team B bats for 10 overs followed by Team A. Then they swap over again until each has batted 50 overs.
The only "compromise" with traditional playing conditions is that anybody can keep wicket and two substitute fielders can take the place of the "not-out" batsmen when they are getting padded up or unpadded.
An eye on their opponents: The new format allows teams to keep an eye on their opponents and try to ensure that they don't get too far ahead -- thus ensuring more closer finishes that we currently have to endure.
A bonus point for "winning" each bloc of 10 overs ensures that the yawnathon middle overs will have meaning and context and, because comparative scores are always available, messrs Duckworth and Lewis can go back to their lives as accountants.
The creator of the concept, currently known as "5ives cricket", is a South African actuary who happily admits to being no more than a "very big fan of the game". His name is Dick Wood.
"It always frustrated me when I heard commentators saying things like, 'Well, we just don't know what a good score is' during the first innings. And I found it particularly frustrating when the toss played such a big part in the result of a game," Wood told the Mail & Guardian.
"This way you always know who's ahead. And when a child asks you, 'Who's winning?', you can look at the bonus points and say, 'It's 2-1 to South Africa!'"
With the help of Dr Ali Bacher, Wood has presented his concept to Cricket South Africa, the England and Wales Cricket Board and, most recently, to the MCC's world cricket committee, comprising some of the greatest contemporary names in the game -- Steve Waugh, Michael Atherton, Shaun Pollock, Rahul Dravid, Martin Crowe and Barry Richards, to name a few. They loved it.
So much so that they have organised the two trial matches at Radlett, MCC Universities against MCC Young Cricketers. If they are successful, the counties will try it. Zimbabwe have even expressed an interest in using the format for their domestic one-day competition.
Sooner than you think it could well be the saviour of the one-day international.
But would Zimbabwe try it out on the top flight Faithwear championships? If at all, it would be better to introduce this for B Team competition.
