Should the ICC consider doing away with the toss in cricket?
A short pre-match thrilling phenomenon which is an adulation to the element of luck – which ultimately decides who bats or bowls first in the game is what a coin toss is. It is, perhaps, also one of cricket’s oldest and grandest traditions.
As per the first known law dating back to 1744, the toss-winning captain could choose which pitch to bat on along with whether to bat or bowl first. But by 1809, the option of choosing the pitch was passed in favour of the umpires to decide.
However, in modern times, the idea of scrapping cricket’s greatest tradition has become a lively issue. Prominent voices including the legendary Michael Holding and former Australian captain Allan Border have opined that the luck of a coin flip has now been utterly deciding the outcome of the matches. However, the consequences do differ from format to format and tell a different story.
What about limited-overs cricket?
When it comes to limited-overs cricket, the trend of winning the toss and chasing totals is now a well-proven formula, especially in T20 cricket. Success is laid mainly on the back of conditions wherein there’s hardly any wear and tear. Thus, it makes for a uniform contest between both teams.
ODI cricket may partially form its case of casualty especially when it comes to subcontinent conditions. Owing to the humid conditions, the dew factor often propels captains to have a bowl first and chase down totals. Apart from that, the match conditions now remain unwrinkled thus refraining the toss from becoming a felony.
Test cricket the biggest casualty
It’s actually the longest format that demands a complete eradication. Basing itself on a judgement that it would help diminish doctoring of pitches, especially when the home teams significantly exploit the conditions as per their needs.
To restore the balance, the proposed theory is to abandon the coin toss and give the visiting team the liberty to decide if they want to bat or bowl first. However, the ICC Cricket Committee had ruled out this concept for the World Test Championship as toss does form an integral part of Test cricket.
England, on the other hand, had introduced a similar kind of concept known as ‘uncontested toss’ in their County structure. The emphasis was to improve the quality of pitches and rebel the home side from taking undue advantage of the conditions. However, the idea couldn’t pan out the drastic changes. It eventually also resulted in a fall in terms of average runs per wicket thus leading to its abolishment.
In short, scrapping a toss doesn’t form a conclusive solution when it comes to ceasing off the manipulations which the home teams enjoy. Especially in the longest format hence ensuring that the innate flip remains well alive.
