ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 Bash the Bowlers T20, Modern Bats and Contemporary Cricket KAUSHIK DASGUPTA Vol. 50, Issue No. 17, 25 Apr, 2015 Kaushik Das Gupta (
[email protected]) is a journalist and editor based in Delhi. Today, more than ever before, the balance in the game of cricket is skewed heavily in favour of batsmen. The immense popularity of one-day cricket and, more recently, the T20 format, where batsmen go all out to enthrall the crowds with their batting prowess, has accelerated this development. It is up to bodies like the International Cricket Council and Marylebone Cricket Club to frame rules to redress the bowler-batsman imbalance and restore the spirit of the traditional game. After the conclusion of the recent cricket World Cup, Michael Holding was asked if the last edition was the best ever. Never one to mince words, the West Indian legend retorted, “How could anyone say that this is the best World Cup ever? There have been maybe four good games in 48”.[i] The International Cricket Council (ICC), in contrast, patted itself for a job well done. David Richardson, the chief executive officer (CEO) of cricket’s governing body, declared the current World Cup as the “most followed and best attended cricket event in history. All over the world, hundreds of millions of fans have been enthralled by the quality of cricket on show, the exploits of world’s top players and the colour of the festival across both host nations”.[ii] As it went into a self-congratulatory mode, the ICC marshaled an array of figures.