The International Cricket Council (ICC) should modify its policy for slow over rates, Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron said on Tuesday.
Speaking after the suspension of captain Jason Holder from the third Test against England starting on Saturday in St Lucia, Cameron questioned whether the player’s absence was good for cricket.
The Windies won the second Test by 10 wickets in less than three days, for an unassailable 2-0 series lead, but world No.1-ranked allrounder Holder’s subsequent suspension dampened the celebrations.
“We will, of course, abide by the ICC ruling, but we have to wonder if such punitive action at a pivotal stage of the series is good for cricket,” Cameron said in a statement.
“What a shame if the series is remembered not for the sparkling play of the reinvigorated West Indies players but for a crippling decision made by a rule that ought to be modified.”
Cameron did not specify exactly what modification he favoured, and he was not arguing the letter of the law.
Holder was suspended because he was deemed responsible for the West Indies being two overs short of their required minimum target for the match.
It is the second time Holder has been suspended.
Critics argue that forcing the team’s captain to sit out is exactly what Test cricket does not need in its struggle to stay relevant in the Caribbean.
The first two Tests in Barbados and Antigua were both well attended, but most of the crowd were supporting England – not the home team.
“The game really doesn’t help itself,” tweeted former England batsman Michael Vaughan.
Retired Australian legspinner Shane Waugh also weighed in.
“The test didn’t go three days. What a ridiculous decision. Where’s the common sense here?” he tweeted.
The minimum required over rate in Tests is 15 per hour, although the number can be modified by the match referee to account for extenuating circumstances.
Opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite will captain the West Indies in Holder’s absence.
El Loco
Roar Rookie
Funnily enough, given the rule is in the name of spectator entertainment, the least entertaining part of the match would have been when the West Indies were batting, but thankfully England were getting through their overs nice and efficiently.
Bepe
Guest
The rule exists and had to be applied. However, England getting out quickly didn’t give West Indies much opportunity to repair the over rate. Many excellent ideas will be given by those that feel the ICC can do better. My idea is a sliding scale would improve the fairness ie. 5 day test = 15 overs/hr req 4 day test = 14 overs/hr req
bigbaz
Roar Guru
Shane would love that mix up
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Surely a review at the end of a game, that left TWO days unplayed due to England not being good enough to take the game to the full five days, should result in an additional fine to show they are serious about it, but also show logically that 2 overs outside time keeping the public there a couple of minutes longer, yet could add an extra half hour on a day if a result is possible.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Former Australian leg spinner is Shane warne. Former australian captain is Steve Waugh.
Phil
Guest
Spot on regarding extending each session and shortening the breaks if necessary. Don’t add time at the end of the day and force paying spectators to sit an extra half hour on what is already a long day. I would also like to see batsmen brought into line in some way. The incessant taking of drinks between overs and changing of gloves and pitch prodding are all time wasters. The batsman should always be ready to take block when a bowler is at the end of his run up.
Jacko
Guest
Spot on Timmuh.....I have wondered for years why they dont just say 30 overs then lunch.....Start after lunch when scheduled then 30 overs before tea then start post tea session when scheduled then 30 overs before stumps....Seems pretty basic really
Timmuh
Roar Guru
The suspensions do seem heavy-handed, but given what has happened something meaningful was necessary. The fact they still happens suggests maybe its not the right way to go about it, but until something better comes along (run penalties are not better, changing the nature of scoring is not suitable) its what we're stuck with. One thing I would like to see is the extra overs bowled at the end of the session, not the day. Too often the wrong ream is in the field doing the overtime because there was a change of innings during the day. (It will still happen under a session based rule, but its an extra 7-8 minutes a session not an extra 20-25; and you'll get a hurry-up if you think you might only get a 10 minute tea break.) Umpires being more proactive in stopping mid-over breaks and incessant changes of gear would help too.
Paul
Roar Guru
"Critics argue that forcing the team’s captain to sit out is exactly what Test cricket does not need in its struggle to stay relevant in the Caribbean." Holder would have been completely aware of the rules in force prior to the series starting. He could also regularly check with the umpires to make sure he was keeping up with the over rate, or get one of the WI entourage to do that. Instead, the WI President blames the rule? If the rule was that bad, why not raise this publicly before the series started? Completely ridiculous logic.
Jay Rodda Rams
Roar Rookie
This is England's cricket board trying to prevent the West Indies handling out a rare, humiliating and devastating 3-0 white wash. England have a team identity crisis where it finds itself in limbo between One Day Cricket and Tests. Without batsman who can occupy the crease such as Alister Cook, Nick Compton, David Malan and Joe Root out of form, England have assembled a side that is obsessed with attacking and is vulnerable to collapsing without having a batsman to dig them out
VivGilchrist
Roar Rookie
Cricket has a way of attacking itself