Indian Premier League: It'll be Raining Runs and Wickets
A famous man once sang - Imagine there's no heaven, imagine there's no countries, imagine no possessions.....Now imagine if we could add just one more line in that - Imagine cricket while it is raining.
That the Duckworth-Lewis method is inept for at least T20 cricket is a given. Most don't like it and most recently the choir against the rain system came alive when rain interrupted the game between Sunrisers Hyderabad & Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.(IPL 2015: Full Coverage)
NDTV expert Dean Jones said 'I don't like Duckworth-Lewis. If anyone can come up with a better Pythagorean or theories, well, bring it on to us, because that's the only one we've got'.
However, when we consider all the talk about T20 cricket we also consider it as the version of the game that gives us the most entertainment. So, why not make it more entertaining? If we are any way compromising on making it a lot about entertainment and ignoring the purists then let's go all the way. Why stop short?
Every time the rain falls down the cricket stops and the entertainment ends. What if the rain came but the cricket didn't stop? Imagine the game continuing even if it was drizzling. Wouldn't that make it more interesting? The possibility of too much rain over the paradise of cricket would surely call for the umpires to call it off. But if the rain was intermittent or the type that didn't really make puddles on the pitch the game could be all the more exciting. At least the possibility of this could be explored just like day and night Test cricket has been explored.
Hitting the ball in the air would probably be more advantageous as the ball would skid off the field the moment it bounced. Hitting the ball along the ground would in some cases count for little but in others count for a lot more.
Just weigh the pros and cons. Consider, the negative aspect of a slower outfield in heavy rain against the prospect of a faster outfield in lighter rain. The negative aspect of a ball hit in the air stopping the moment it hits the ground by coming in contact with a puddle in heavy rain against the prospect of the ball which is hit in the air skidding on at lightning speed when it comes in contact with the ground. The bowler will find it hard to grip the ball but the ball but the vision of the batsman will also be disturbed with rain falling. The point being, it all evens out.
Even the prospect of rain in one innings but none in the other could work either ways. There is no certain way to know. In fact, we'll never know whether T20 cricket can weather the storm until we try. It might be raining but raining runs and wickets too. So let's try?