Jun 08 2009
ICC World Twenty20: ICC’s new magnetic bails and other measures to aid batsmen
Following reports that the Twenty20 form of cricket is becoming too much of a bowler’s game, the ICC have announced plans to trial a new metal stump/magnetic bail combination in the forthcoming all-important Manchester and District Cricket Association 20-Over Cup.
In yesterday’s World Twenty20 match between Pakistan and England, Umar Gul managed to not only send Owais Shah’s leg stump flying everywhere, but actually split it in half with a blisteringly quick yorker.
In direct response to this incident, the ICC, ever conscious that the bowler may be slowly and surreptitiously gaining the upper hand in what is meant to be a batsman’s variation of the game, are keen to reduce the number of wickets taken in international Twenty20 cricket matches.
In addition to stainless steel stumps with magnetic bails, made from 100% recycled Tesco cutlery, any ball that passes through to the wicket keeper without first being intercepted by the batsman will be called a wide. Even balls that may, by some fluke, pass through the stumps without dislodging the bails will be signalled as an illegal delivery by the umpire.
The ICC has already sanctioned shorter boundaries and stricter fielding restrictions, and the latest developments may pave the way for future World Ten10, Five5 and even One1 competitions to be played over a single day. England are already beefing up their under-18 squad to be the next generation of ultimate sloggers that specialise in smacking the ball out of the ground.
I guess I have sometime to learn how to dip my wicket in a cricket and learn how to wail at the bail.
Today.com abruptly cancelled my membership this morning after a post in which I quote a Thai official who mentioned David Carradine’s penis after having been instructed not to use the term any more.
I’ll be back tonight or tomorrow at drfaustrollwritesthewrongs.com with my twin shoulder-holstered virtual second amendments blazing.
Have some tea for me with harriett von reCAPTCHA.
As reCAPTCHA is only too glad to remind me: Ex- coxe, which is what we call former insignificant penises here in the states.
‘Tis true that I have been summarily booted out. They’ve stripped the widgets and rolled the blog back to the middle of last month.
I’ll probably spend the next couple of days looking at the other blogs and figuring out which way to muster the troops in the never-ending battle against troof, jaundice, and the Ameritrade Way.
TTYL