Australian Test champion Jason Gillespie has branded the modern cricketer ‘lazy’ and developed a bold plan to correct the slow over rates which plague Test cricket.
Gillespie, who is making waves as coach of English county powerhouse Yorkshire, is adamant it is possible to get through 90 overs a day – a mark which is increasingly being missed by modern teams, leaving fans short-changed.
“Overs are bowled too slowly because players are lazy, and their teams should be given run penalties when this happens,” he wrote in a column for the London Evening Standard.
“…if I were a match referee, I would be incredibly tough on it.”
The 71-Test veteran’s “no ifs, no buts” plan would be to dock teams 10 runs for every over they fall short of the mark at the end of each day.
“If this were introduced, I guarantee teams would not fall behind on the over rate,” he said.
Gillespie believes that will prove far more effective than the current fines system, while he’s also not keen on the current threat of bans for the team’s captain for repeat offences.
“I’d prefer run penalties. They affect the whole team,” Gillespie added.
He points to English domestic cricket – and his Yorkshire team in particular where it’s “non-negotiable” – as proof that it can be achieved, because teams can’t afford to be punished by way of losing competition points.
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