World Cup 2015: Batsmen Celebrate, Bowlers Suffer

Cricket: A bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players each. That's how Wikipedia describes cricket.

The trouble is, 'the bat and ball game' is fast turning into a 'bat pummeling the ball into submission game'. When Australia and New Zealand were announced as co-hosts of the 2015 ICC World Cup, fans across the world began to gear up for a month and a half of exciting contests between the bat and the ball. After all, these two countries have some of the fastest pitches in the world don't they? But after about 3 weeks of the World Cup, the contest between bat and ball is anything but even. (Pakistan Batsmen Need to Stay Focussed)

Consider this, the 2015 World Cup has already seen 16 matches where the team batting first scored 300 plus. There was only one instance of a 400 plus score in all World Cups before this. This edition has already had 3. Chris Gayle has smashed a World Cup 200, Australia have notched up a 257 run win, the biggest in the history of the World Cup. No wonder then that Pakistan coach and one of the best fast bowlers the world has ever seen, Waqar Younis has said, "It is a little unfair to faster bowlers, you don't really know which way to bowl." (Cricket World Cup 2015: 'No' to Minnows?)

That cricket is fast becoming a batsmen's game is an open secret, but the most troubling aspect is that the ICC is fine with the balance of the game being skewed completely in favour of the willow wielders. According to the rules, only two fielders are allowed outside the 30 yard circle in the first 10 overs. At no time can there be more than 4 fielders outside the circle. Add to that unusually flat pitches. Result? Massacre. Some of the fastest pitches in the world are turning into graveyards for bowlers.

According to Waqar, "People want to see big sixes and that's why the rules and laws have been changed." Australian captain Michael Clarke (himself a batsman) has pointed out, "The fact that you only have four fielders out instead of five makes a massive difference, and you've got two brand new balls which means you're hitting a much harder cricket ball the whole way through your innings." Is this completely a batsman's World Cup then?

In the medieval ages people flocked to arenas to watch blood sport. Strong, young men being butchered by stronger men. As blood was spilt, people clapped, asking for more. The modern day game of cricket, it seems is going the same way. No real blood is spilt of course. However, as batsmen, armed with sledgehammers in the guise of bats and rules that support murder on a cricket field torment bowlers, the crowd asks for more. A run fest is usually talked about much more than a bowlers' 5 wicket haul or a low-scoring thriller.(Shaiman Anwar, The Batting 'Prince' of UAE)

There has been hardly any joy for the bowlers!

© Getty Images

Former English county bowler Simon Hughes, who is now an international match analyst tweeted, "Since the new fielding restrictions, the run rate in the last 10 overs of World Cup games has gone from 7.64 to 10.81." Incredibly, despite the Aussie and Kiwi pitches, the only match that comes to mind where the ball silenced the bat was the Australia versus New Zealand encounter, where the Aussies almost defended 151.

So what's the tally looking like? A batsman has a great bat, coupled with extremely favourable rules and regulations, limited bouncers to deal with, smaller boundaries, flat pitches and yes, their biggest supporter, the ICC. A bowler, on the other hand, can bowl just 2 bouncers in an over, has virtually no protection in the outfield, can't stray down the leg side by even a nanometre and even if he does get an edge, it can well fly over the boundary for a six, thanks to the modern day bats.

Graeme Swann might have retired, but he feels the pain of his fellow bowlers. The former English tweaker tweeted to say, "On behalf of all bowlers, bring back the fifth fielder outside the circle! #batsmansgame." The modern day game is governed largely by economics, but then so is a game like baseball, one of the most commercially successful sports in USA. The last time there was a major rule change in baseball was in 1969. Pitchers and batters can have a go at each other, without the balance being tilted unfairly in favour of either group.

Are we then heading into an era where bowlers will no longer be included in the legends' category? If the likes of Dale Steyn and Mitchell Johnson can be taken to the cleaners ruthlessly, chances are that future generations will only remember the batsmen. The bowlers meanwhile are suffering, pleading for things to change.

The question is - is anybody listening?