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'Now imagine how fast you're getting through': An alternative solution to penalising teams for slow over-rates
Sport Nation • December 4th, 2024 11:00 am
Photo: Photosport
The Blackcaps' World Test Championship final ambitions suffered another setback on Wednesday, with the ICC's decision to dock them three points for their slow over-rate during the first test against England.
The punishment has seen New Zealand drop to outright fifth in the points ladder, making the formula of outcomes the team were relying on to repeat their famous feat of 2021 that much more complex.
While England were dealt the same penalty, the impact isn't nearly as severe given they've already been ruled out of contention to make the final.
Sport Nation's Scotty Stevenson believes he's come up with a solution that will ensure both teams in a Test match are equally invested in remaining on schedule.
"You take the run rate of the batting team and the number of overs remaining in the day unplayed. You multiply those two numbers and those are your bonus runs at the end of every day," Stevenson explained on Sport Nation's Scotty & Izzy.
"You can do that session by session, if you want to add some extra weight to it. Therefore there's no impact on a player's statistics, you just get bonus runs.
"Now imagine how fast you're getting through your overs."
Smithy's take on Blackcaps' first Test loss to England | Sport Nation
Applying that formula to the weekend's contest in Christchurch, the Blackcaps would have been awarded a 'bonus' 30 runs, which could hypothetically have been added to the extras column.
The onus needs to be more upon the on-field umpires to curtail the excessive stoppages that contribute to the laboured play, rather than remaining indifferent and waiting for sanctions to be doled out in the aftermath, Stevenson adds.
"A change of gloves is one thing but calling for a drink half an hour before the drinks break, that's quite another.
"It's quite easy for a match referee to say no to those kinds of things. And it's quite easy for an umpire to say 'no drinks, I'm calling drinks in half an hour's time'.
"I think the whole ecosystem of the adjudication around Test matches has to change. You have to do these things in the game. It's pointless doing them after.
"For the integrity of the Test, do something about it in-game so that it has a material, or could have, a material impact on the result of the Test match."
The second Test begins in Wellington on Friday.
Sport Nation has live ball-by-ball commentary of all three Test matches between the Blackcaps and England - available on all NZ frequencies and the new Sport Nation app - available on App Store and Google Play.
