The power plays are now accepted and the super sub was an excellent addition that wasn’t understood enough and sadly discarded when all it needed was one amendment.

The idea that appeals the most to me is, at some time in the future, to convert 50 overs cricket into two innings of 25 overs each.

It will provide the drama of a smaller match but build in the additional excitement of having to make good a poor first innings.

Conditions will be more even for both teams (the dew in a day-night game will affect both teams since each will get 25 overs in the evening), the toss will give the captain more to think about and the commercial side will be well taken care of. It is an idea that has emerged from Australia and I first read of it in an article by John Buchanan.

It is tailor made for the sub-continent even though at the moment it is no more than a first draft.

It will need to be refined (how do you build in a rain interruption for example?) but it is a thrilling first draft.

But just as a player needs to be given an opportunity to fail, and therefore to succeed, before being dropped, so too must 50 overs cricket.

For all that you know players might re-invent things in the middle overs, batsmen may take more chances, bowlers may take more wickets and it might all become very exciting.

... contd.