Cricket: Play on as we are say Black Caps

As the International Cricket Council (ICC) met in London over the weekend to push through changes to the rules for one-day cricket, it was likely faced with quiet but significant dissent from New Zealand.

Martin Snedden, New Zealand Cricket [NZC] chief executive, will not comment on New Zealand's stance on the proposed changes until after they have been ratified by the ICC but he received a submission from his players stating they were unconvinced the law changes were necessary.

In response to widespread claims one-day cricket was becoming too boring, the ICC proposes to change the number of overs under fielding restrictions from 15 to 20, with 10 at the start of the innings, and two blocks of five overs to be used at the fielding captain's discretion.

The most radical proposal, however, is the introduction of a substitute wherein a player could be replaced at any stage of a match but would then be ruled out for the remainder of the match. Both the substitute and the substituted player would receive a cap and the replacement could happen at any stage of the match, including during an individual's innings.

The New Zealand Players' Association surveyed its players on the issue and manager Heath Mills said the response was that "one-day cricket is not boring".

He said the players believed the issue was not with the game but with the volume and the amount of mismatches.

"When you get two evenly-matched teams you seldom hear people complain that the one-day format is boring," Mills said.

While the New Zealand players, first-class and international, believe one-day cricket's rules should stay as they are, the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (Fica), the umbrella group which the NZ Players' Association comes under, is supporting the changes.

The inference can be drawn, then, that New Zealand's dissent would have to come directly from Snedden.

Mills said the players would rather see the problems of too many matches, particularly 'dead rubbers' at the end of a series, and too many mismatches addressed.

"The problem may be more with the scheduling and the quality of some of the teams than the format itself," Mills said.

Mills has also had concern expressed from players who believe the game is already too heavily weighted in favour of the batting side.

"The existing feeling at the ICC was that the batsman is too heavily favoured yet the first recommendation aids them even more by giving them five further overs under fielding restrictions.

"The reality is that if the fielding team is doing OK during a match, the field stays up anyway."

Mills cautioned that the substitution law would be messy to bed in.

"This should be trialled in a domestic competition before it is introduced at international level."

If the proposals are ratified, they will be introduced immediately for internationals.

Mills said there was a possibility that the Twenty20 format would fill the void for quick-fix cricket and mean changes to one-day cricket weren't so urgent.

Also at the ICC meeting, the executive will be making decisions on whether to implement technology trials during this year's Super Series and discussing amending regulations on bats.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY