Features

SORRY, BUT THIS LATEST TWEAK ISN’T GOING TO IMPROVE ENGLISH BATTING

by
The Cricket Paper Team
15 March 2019

Derek Pringle points to some muddled thinking behind the ECB’s decision to alter the nature of the ball in a bid to favour the bat

As a former bowler I’m acutely aware that ball-tampering is illegal. So, why are the England and Wales Cricket Board messing with the red ball this season by altering its ability to move laterally off the seam? The short answer is that they are worried about the reduction in runs being scored across both divisions of the County Championship. To see how this has declined we need look no further than the past four seasons. In 2015, 21 batsmen passed...