Sophie Devine and Jemimah Rodrigues suggest reducing the size of the ball and shorter pitch post COVID-19

The outbreak of the Coronavirus led to cricket being stopped across the world. The sport is slowly resuming now with associate countries staging T10 and T20 tournaments. Moreover, England is also set to host the West Indies for a three-match Test series behind the closed doors. ICC has already set the guidelines to keep all the concerned people related to game safe on the field.

The world cricketing body has banned the use of saliva to shine the ball while the umpires have advised not to handle the ball without gloves and wear masks. Meanwhile, New Zealand cricketer Sophie Devine and India’s Jemimah Rodrigues have suggested innovations in the game in the post-pandemic era.

Devine reckons reducing the size of the ball will help the bowlers a lot. According to her, the fast bowlers can increase their pace while the spinners will also be able to turn the ball a long way. She also felt that it is no harm to try new things out and help the game grow with more excited athletes coming in. According to the ICC regulations, the ball should weigh around 140-151g with a circumference of 21-22.5cm in Women’s cricket.

“I’m a bigger fan of looking at a smaller ball but keeping the pitch the same size. That way, I reckon bowlers are going to be able to bowl the ball quicker, spinners are going to be able to turn the ball more. Hopefully, the ball should fly a bit further as well, whereas you’re still keeping the traditional length of the pitch.

“It’s a very interesting one. If it’s going to help the game flourish, I think: why not? Why would we not have a crack at it and see what happens? I think you’ve always got to have a bit of trial and error and see what works. I think if we are stuck with traditional formats, we’d be missing out on a lot of new players, new kids, new athletes to the game,” she said at an ICC Webinar.

Jemimah Rodrigues suggests shortening the length of the pitch

Jemimah Rodrigues was also present at the Webinar and she felt that reducing the length of the pitch in Women’s cricket will help a long way. The 19-year-old is of the opinion that it will make the game more interesting and more competitive matches will take place.

“If that is going to help the game improve and take it to the next level, then why not? You know, kind of get a thought to it, think about it, because at the end of it, we want to promote the game. We want to get more people to watch the game and more people to even join the game. So, yeah, I think it is a good idea. I think, you know, you can be open to it,” she said.