South Australian sport has a history of cricketer/baseballers – Vic Richardson and his grandson Chappelli are probably the most celebrated.
Their T20 franchise, the Strikers, has fed on this legacy, using both Johan Botha and Saeed Ajmal in their attack in last night’s game – further blurring the distinction between bowling and pitching!
Meanwhile, in golf, both of Australia’s majors have succumbed to “broomstickers” – a sad asterisk to add to these once treasured trophies.
ESPNcricinfo is beginning a series on cricket rules and laws that could do with changing. Read here.
Why limit the debate to cricket?
Here’s your chance for a Christmas wish.
Sit on Santa Crio’s knee and ask for the rule change to make your sporting life better in 2013.
1 – eliminate the repocharge nonsense from the Stawell Gift – if you lose, you’re out.
2 – abolish decision reviews in cricket
3 – introduce a new rule into AFL footy that no rules are allowed to be changed for another 5 years.
Whatever they’ve done to hockey has worked. Got rid of offside and they’ve done something else too cos the ref doesn’t call a foul every 30 seconds.
Cricket must abolish the “no ball” review, i.e. the umpire checking to see if a bowler has transgressed before letting a batsman walk. If the ump does not call it when it is bowled, it is not a no-ball!
Interchange. Cap it at 100 or make it 2 and 2.
Given that drugs seem to be An Issue and An Argument at the moment, I’d like to open up random testing for recreational drugs to both the football media and AFL House.
Crio, the thought of sitting on your knee makes me a bit uneasy.
Agree with all of the above.
get rid of the front foot no ball rule. make it a back foot rule. If your back foot goes over the stump line its a no ball. haven’t really thought it through, but there you go.
get rid of batsmen referrals. Finger up, on your way buddy. they take the drama out of the game.
Has the play on after a pint rule been changed back? if not, players should have to wait for the umpire to wave his flag.
yep Philo, cap the interchange.
I am with Litza. Random drug and alcohol testing for all players, coaches, footy media, AFL staff and Almanackers (within a 30 minute window either side of posting).
I could save a half hour a day not drinking and posting ridiculous comments that only seem clever, witty and wise while under the influence.
Get rid of the rule:
allowing players to take half a catch inside the field of play,
toss it in the air,
run outside of the field of play
only to run back in and complete the catch
Can’t remember too many players taking one in the crowd when the boundary used to be the fence. In fact, bring back the boundary on the fence.
And the one I hate the most: the whip rules: jockeys have to count to 5, that is totally unreasonable.
Jock , totally agree re that stupid boundary rope rule . Bring back the fence and get rid of all those people hanging around inside the fence-photographers included. They can sit behind the fence and zoom in with their gigantic cameras.
Football interchange rule -Scrap it , get back to having a proper contest.
Jock and Pamela – you could never lean back/touch the boundary fence while completing a catch. I can remember players doing the backward lean over the fence (without touching it); tapping the ball forward and catching it in the field of play. So its as old as WG Grace. The rule has never changed.
As for boundary ropes. Yeah bring back the pickets so players can do a knee sliding into a hard fence. Or tanked supporters can lean into the field of play and throttle the opposition fast bowlers fielding on boundary at fine leg, for digging too many in short at our batsmen (as happened to John Snow in 71).
Racings never been the same Jock since they did away with the wooden running rail. Too many of those thieving jockeys get up and walk away these days.