Sachin Tendulkar Says Using Two New White Balls Is A 'Perfect Recipe For Disaster'

Sachin Tendulkar came out unequivocally against the use of two white cricket balls in One-day International (ODI), calling it a 'perfect recipe for disaster'. The former cricket star was referring to the run-fest that has highlighted the England vs Australia ODI series, with the home team scoring a world record 481 runs in the 3rd game. Gone are the days when bowlers used to rule the game of cricket and batsmen were scared to face lethal bowling spells. Over the years, the balance between bat and ball has become worryingly lopsided and it has become a lot easier to score runs than it used to be even 10 years ago. Perhaps, that is why a "good wicket" is one on which runs flow freely, while the one on which bowlers thrive is called a "poor wicket". The last couple of ODIs between England and Australia, seemed to show that some sort of pinnacle has been reached. England stormed to a world record 481/6 as they demolished Australia's bowling attack in the third ODI of their 5-match series at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. The 242-run loss was Australia's heaviest defeat in ODI history. The hosts' record-breaking feat has sent shock waves through the world of cricket, given a total of 500, once unimaginable in a 50-over game, now appears to be in sight. 

Worried by the current state of affairs, Sachin Tendulkar, one of the most prolific batsman of this era, took to Twitter and labelled the two concept of two new balls a 'perfect recipe for disaster'. 

"Having 2 new balls in one day cricket is a perfect recipe for disaster as each ball is not given the time to get old enough to reverse. We haven't seen reverse swing, an integral part of the death overs, for a long time. #ENGvsAUS," tweeted Tendulkar.

Having 2 new balls in one day cricket is a perfect recipe for disaster as each ball is not given the time to get old enough to reverse. We haven't seen reverse swing, an integral part of the death overs, for a long time. #ENGvsAUS

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 21, 2018

In the fourth ODI, Australia posted a total of 310/8, which was chased down by England with 32 balls to spare.

White balls have become a standard part of the limited overs game but they tend to swing less than traditional red balls, making things a lot easier for batsmen.

It was thought that having two white balls per innings would aid quicker bowlers, instead, it has reduced the wear and tear. Since the condition of the ball does not change much, it becomes almost impossible for bowlers to extract reverse swing.

The concept of two new balls in ODIs allows the bowling side to use fresh balls from each end. The concept was introduced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2011.

Topics mentioned in this article

England Cricket Team India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Cricket Sachin Tendulkar