Shane Warne has come up with a suggestion that he feels will bridge the gap between bat and ball in T20 cricket. With the format considered to be heavily in favour of the batsmen, the former leg-spinner’s idea is a fresh take that promises to make for a better contest between bat and ball.
“What about four bowlers bowl five overs? I just think it’ll make for a better contest between bat and ball. You want your best bowlers bowling as much as you can as T20 is so much in the batsmen’s favour,” Warne said on Sky Sports Cricket while doing commentary during the second T20I between England and Australia.
“When you get a couple of gun bowlers like this [Archer and Wood] you want to give them another over up front.”
As per the current rules, in a T20 match, a bowler is allowed to bowl a maximum of four overs, even though there are no restrictions on the numbers of bowlers used during an inning. Warne suggests an extra over per bowler promises to make the contest between bat and ball even.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to give them five? You can obviously have eight bowlers bowl whatever but I would like to see bowlers be able to bowl five. [Adil] Rashid could bowl five overs in the middle which would be a real good battle for the batsmen against spin, while you can bowl your quicks at the beginning and at the end,” Warne said.
{{/usCountry}}“Wouldn’t it be nice to give them five? You can obviously have eight bowlers bowl whatever but I would like to see bowlers be able to bowl five. [Adil] Rashid could bowl five overs in the middle which would be a real good battle for the batsmen against spin, while you can bowl your quicks at the beginning and at the end,” Warne said.
{{/usCountry}}“I reckon it gets rid of the bits-and-pieces and you can pick your best batsmen and best bowlers when selecting your team.”