Cricket legend Justin Langer has called for a radical end to draws in Test matches, saying a points system like that used in boxing could be put in place to decide a winner.
Langer has been thinking about the issue for about a year, with last week’s tame draw between Australia and New Zealand at the WACA Ground a perfect example of a match fizzling out.
The former Australian Test opener wants draws to be abolished in all forms of cricket, including Sheffield Shield matches.
While Langer isn’t sure of the exact system that should be put in place, he says boxing is an example of a sport where a winner can be decided even without a knockout blow.
“It’s like you have a split decision in a boxing fight,” Langer said.
“You get through your 10 rounds, and someone’s still the winner at the end of it.
“There’ll be some controversy about that. But there’s been plenty of boxing controversies over the years as well.
“They get it right most of the time.
“A lot of people who don’t watch the game go, ‘How do you play for five days and not get a result?’
“They just don’t get it. Usually, sport is about winning or losing – it’s not about drawing.
“If we take the draws out, and play a bit of day-night cricket, it’s all good for the game.”
Langer supports Test cricket’s foray into day-night matches, but he acknowledges there might be some early teething problems with the pink ball.
He said it was crucial for curators to leave extra grass on the wicket to protect the pink ball, which can get easily damaged on harder surfaces.
“When my dog gets hold of a tennis ball, he rips it to shreds,” Langer said.
“That’s what the pink ball looked like … after 80 overs when we played at Bellerive Oval a few weeks ago under lights.
“So they’re going to have to get that right. But I like the concept.”
b
Guest
Boxing has been mentioned, but what Langer failed to mention is the corruption in boxing, which the subjective points system helps. You might find teams intentionally playing for a draw because they know they will win on points, either because they earnt enough points already, or because they know who's making the decision. Getting these kinds of "results" would be even less satisfying than a draw. Duckworth Lewis is accepted as a necessary evil, because ODI's don't have enough time to make up for rain delays. It's certainly not a popular way to decide a match. Sessions or daily scoring as a point system doesn't work either. The England Ashes before last would have gone to Australia using that method because England were totally outclassed, they just won a few key moments. And that's test cricket, you can lose the "points" and still win the test.
Geoff Parkes
Expert
Correct mate, there is no problem. One drawn test in Perth, a hard slog for the bowlers and so we have to manufacture things to make test cricket interesting again? To who? People who aren't really interested in test cricket anyway? If they cut the length of a ballet in half, got rid of the blokes and only used music I like, then I might take more of an interest in it. But it would hardly be ballet then would it? The WACA pitch is ruining test cricket. How about the India v Sth Africa pitch, is that what they want? No, they say, they want pitches which provide something for bowlers and batsmen, which produce a result on the final day. Well here's a scoop, that's generally what groundsmen try to achieve. But it's an inexact science with fine margins for error, which most of us armchair experts don't understand the subtleties of, and just because they get a couple of pitches wrong doesn't mean the world is caving in. As for Langer, RK above is on the money. Gag these idiots. Imagine a side which is "ahead on points" going into the final day. How hard do you think they will be going for the win? Such an idiotic proposal with surely increase the number of drawn matches. Imagine working out the points scoring system - lock a few of us in a room with a few cold slabs and we'd have a whale of a time knocking one up. But that would be for a laugh. Langer surely can't be for real.
Craig
Guest
In the article that I read elsewhere he was more wanting the draw taken out of 1st class not test cricket. even there though there is no need to get rid of the draw, all you need to do is encourage teams to go for the win by reducing the amount of points that they get for a draw
Dave
Guest
If my old memory is correct, tests used to be played until there was a result. Sometimes games would go for a couple weeks and this caused all sorts of problems with ground and officials scheduling etc. Somewhere along the way they were set at a maximum of 5 days - presumably to suit the TV and radio people mostly but also to avoid one match running into the next scheduled one. Please update my memory as required.:-) So the point: if I'm correct, it was always the intention to get a result and therefore I think it's a good idea to see if there's a way to achieve this. Boxing has been mentioned but what about a variation of the Lewis Duckworth method? Try to base it on session and/or daily scoring / wicket-taking rates or some such similar ideas. There's some bright people around who should be able to come up with some agreeable ideas.
Don
Guest
Also came up with Nathan Coulter Nile is now the fastest bowler in Australia after MJ retirement. Mitch Starc anyone ? LOL
Kevin
Guest
I like Langer's idea retired boxers like Anthony Mundine or Kepler Wessels could decide who gets the points decision.
Bunratty c
Roar Rookie
Is this tongue-in-cheek? 1-5% of Tests being drawn might not be "that big a problem" 25%...yes. Now, how to convert drawn matches into different 'results' might require some ingenuity. Suggestions?
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
Just what i was thinking. Langer has been doing this a lot lately
Brett McKay
Expert
9 of the 36 Tests completed in 2015 so far have ended in draws. A quarter. Is it really that big a problem?
b
Guest
It's TEST cricket! Why have so many people lately lost sight of the fact the game is meant to test people? A team hanging on for a draw test's the dominant teams ability to finish a game off, and the other teams ability to bat and survive. A draw can also determine the result of a series. Cardiff anyone?
My2cents
Guest
You could do that. Or play on pitches that actually give the bowlers some assistance. Pitches in favour of the bowling side would almost certainly end the concept of drawn tests
Red Kev
Roar Guru
Cricket fans call for an end to ex-test players making headline-grabbing and utterly stupid comments to the media.