Test cricket should be played in the rain

[GotSpin]

We should also bring back sticky wickets and make the wearing of helmets illegal.

 

[Top_Cat]

Running sports in the wet vs running into bowl in the wet are just very different I think. To the point of passing the umpire, they would be similar but once you hit the popping crease, they're apples and chalk. Running sports, you use big muscles all the way to run and push, the bowling action below the waist is pivoting on joints and whatnot which are already under pressure many times your body weight from the delivery jump. Even the slightest bit of wet and you can fairly easily pop your ankle or knee when your foot slips. So yeah, less about how much pressure is being applied and more about where on the unluky bastard's body it's being applied.

You'd put severe pressure on your joints if you were a winger on the burst and someone took your legs out from the side, say, but I'd imagine that's fairly rare as it'd be difficult to do, easier for one bloke to stop the winger's momentum at the upper-body level and another guy to take his legs out. And most tackles in a rugby/league game would be fairly front-on without a decent head of steam (only 10m to work with in league, for example). Stuff like a torn ACL is obviously an ever-present danger but is there anything to suggest it's more likely in wet weather?

 

[Bun]

not possible howe. far too many disadvantages than advantages.

but agree with idea of cover for the stadium. I think it's possible in the long term. maybe the costs vs benefit are grim atm.

 

[jashan83]

As a thought it is worth thinking about but there are many issues

1. As pointed out by many people, bowlers and fielders slipping around will be very dangerous
2. The cricket bowl will be in tatters after 2-3 overs. (In my childhood we tried playing in rain, and destroyed 2 balls in short span and we abandoned the idea of playing in rain in future)
3. The pitch, it is made at a huge cost and it will be destroyed.


The idea of Stadiums with a roof is brilliant one. With time if Tests under lights are approved then idea of Tests under lights & roof will be a great idea.

 

[_Ed_]

Visibility might be an issue in heavy rain. I remember when I was at school there was an important match near the end of the season and we kept playing in heavy rain. I was fielding at point, and it was actually a bit scary - seeing the swing, hearing the crack of bat on ball and not having a clue where the ball was.

Obviously the cricket ball's a bit harder than balls used in many other sports.

 

[kiwiviktor81]

From my experiences playing cricket in the rain, an unappreciated danger is for the batsman who has to deal with all these beamers that come at him as a result of the ball slipping out of the bowler's hands.

Re: the rugby thing, fast bowling is as much about balance as it is anything else. Easy to balance when lumbering along wearing rugby boots on soft turf, hard to balance sprinting in with cricket shoes on a rolled pitch.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Don't see why that aspect should make it any more dangerous than rugby, which is often played in the wet and with at least as much physical movement.

Because bowlers depend on getting decent footing to perform to the best of their ability. Take that away and their performance deteriorates pretty quickly. You'd end up with the bowlers greatly affected and the batsman not so much. It'd be dangerous for both though, as the bowlers could hurt themselves falling over, and the batsman could get hit when the bowler loses control.

Add to that the ball ending up like soap and I don't think the argument for the game being for the spectators would hold much water. With players performing below their best and fielders struggling to catch a slippery ball it wouldn't really be worth watching.

 

[Athlai]

Pitch would get pretty muddy too with people running over it when it is wet.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Ever tried scrummaging* on a mudbath? Or running down the wing?

Sorry don't mean to sound rude, just trying to make a comparison










*Nope, neither have I, due to my size

There's no comparison, one is a game which is designed to be played in all kinds of weather. One isn't. If rugby balls were made to similar specifications to cricket balls I reckon they'd call the game off pretty quickly. As they would if they were running on a hard pitch that had been rolled making it difficult for them to get traction in the wet.

 

[keeper]

Having played on an actually squelchy pitch last weekend it's clear to me why cricket can't be played in the rain. I wouldn't be averse, however, to shifting things a little bit so that in the event of rain some is allowed on the wicket and shakes things up a bit. Would counteract the increased placid consistency of many wickets. Trouble is, don't see how this could be applied in a consistent manner.

 

[marc71178]

With players performing below their best and fielders struggling to catch a slippery ball it wouldn't really be worth watching.

I don't know, Kamran Akmal's made a career out of that sort of thing.

 

[Howsie]

Well why not?

A serious injury and 6-12 months on the sideline, that's why.

 

[Somerset]

I've done both, scrummaged and bowled and in Rugby Union you are brought up playing in the winter time and even though there is a lot of power involved in the scrum, it's done from a stand still and even though players fight for grip when wet, it's not much more different to when it's dry. Even running down the wing and getting tackled, is not comparable to what forces a fast bowler, puts into his bowling action.
Fast bowling in the rain, would be very tricky and would almost be asking for trouble, especially at the business end of bowling, the action the follow through. Slipping and sliding on the wet grass, could cause all kinds of twists, strains and pulls, especially when fast bowlers are already prone to injury at the best of times.

From my experiences playing cricket in the rain, an unappreciated danger is for the batsman who has to deal with all these beamers that come at him as a result of the ball slipping out of the bowler's hands.

Re: the rugby thing, fast bowling is as much about balance as it is anything else. Easy to balance when lumbering along wearing rugby boots on soft turf, hard to balance sprinting in with cricket shoes on a rolled pitch.

Agree with the arguments presented in the above posts, particularly the bolded parts. Theres still potential for danger in rugby in adverse conditions but the level of danger to a cricketer is relatively incomparable; for a bowler, particularly for a fast bowler who requires precise timing and balance in their sprint and delivery stride risking slipping, strains and so on in soggy conditions, or to a batsman a beamer from a greasy ball slipping out of a bowler's hands, and so on. You see such injuries particularly to bowlers slipping and/or requiring sawdust in slightly damp conditions that prevent the bowler from truely trusting his landing, and thus affecting his performance. With so many genuine quicks suffering injuries on a regular basis, increasing the risk of injury by playing in the rain is certainly not something I'd advocate for.

 

[Goughy]

I've always been told it's "dangerous" to play in the rain, but never excatly how.

It is very dangerous. Fast bowling requires confidence in planting your front foot. Wet weather has it slip all over the place. As someone who has been injured multiple times because of this, the idea of playing in rain for a long period is a terrible idea. Then you add in a smaller risk for fielders as well.

Not only does it add danger but it massively reduces the quality of cricket. Who wants to watch Test matches where the batsmen are slipping when turning for runs and are run out and the quicks can hardly bowl and when they do they bowl half pace and the ball slipping out of the spinners hand?

Im all for pushing through a light shower anddark and overcast conditions but playing in rain puts the platers at risk and devalues the product.

Id rather wait than watch **** cricket.

Playing in prolonged rain would make cricket a dangerous waste of time.

 

[Himannv]

I have another suggestion. Why not convert all existing stadiums to indoor stadiums with a sliding roof that can be controlled by a lever?

In that way, the top can be kept open on most occasions. So that the temperature, humidity and air pressure add to the variables in the game. I certainly don't want to take out those factors that make bowling so interesting.

Should a downpour occur, the roof can be pulled over and the game can still be continued. I realise that this calls for a bit of investment, but the issue of rain affecting test matches can be solved for good. Without compromising on the traditional delights of test match cricket that a purist loves. Thoughts?

I think the financial aspect of this might make it hard for it to be implemented everywhere. There is the issue of proper lighting required as well when the roof is closed. Perhaps just in England?

 

[Himannv]

It is very dangerous. Fast bowling requires confidence in planting your front foot. Wet weather has it slip all over the place. As someone who has been injured multiple times because of this, the idea of playing in rain for a long period is a terrible idea. Then you add in a smaller risk for fielders as well.

Not only does it add danger but it massively reduces the quality of cricket. Who wants to watch Test matches where the batsmen are slipping when turning for runs and are run out and the quicks can hardly bowl and when they do they bowl half pace and the ball slipping out of the spinners hand?

Im all for pushing through a light shower anddark and overcast conditions but playing in rain puts the platers at risk and devalues the product.

Id rather wait than watch **** cricket.

Playing in prolonged rain would make cricket a dangerous waste of time.

Better footwear would help I guess. Other sports are played in the rain as well and players sprint in the rain in those sports. Can't think of anything that may help the ball from slipping out of the grip for spinners though.

Personally find it enjoyable playing in the rain but its not for everyone of course.

 

[Nate]

I find the idea laughable tbh. So, so dangerous.

 

[Somerset]

I think the financial aspect of this might make it hard for it to be implemented everywhere. There is the issue of proper lighting required as well when the roof is closed. Perhaps just in England?

Yup exactly. New Zealand can't even get a new stadium, covered roof or not, to showcase its biggest sport (rugby union) so finding the money to have our cricket stadiums covered is a fantasy - and I imagine thats the case for the majority of the test playing countries, England/Australia aside. You'd also have a problem sighting the red ball in test cricket if it gets hit high upwards into a presumable dark stadium roof.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Better footwear would help I guess. Other sports are played in the rain as well and players sprint in the rain in those sports. Can't think of anything that may help the ball from slipping out of the grip for spinners though.

Personally find it enjoyable playing in the rain but its not for everyone of course.

There's nothing wrong with the footwear...the problem is how hard the pitch is in comparison to other sports like rugby where the ground is soft and the studs sink into the turf.

I'm betting you don't bowl fast if you find it enjoyable in the rain. It's impossible to bowl properly if the pitch is wet. You just end up slipping and/or digging a hole with your front foot in the pitch.

As someone else said, playing cricket in the rain is simply a ridiculous idea. Sillier than Australia's selection policies at the moment.

 

[Himannv]

There's nothing wrong with the footwear...the problem is how hard the pitch is in comparison to other sports like rugby where the ground is soft and the studs sink into the turf.

I'm betting you don't bowl fast if you find it enjoyable in the rain. It's impossible to bowl properly if the pitch is wet. You just end up slipping and/or digging a hole with your front foot in the pitch.

As someone else said, playing cricket in the rain is simply a ridiculous idea. Sillier than Australia's selection policies at the moment.

Well I'm not exactly talking about a thumderstorm with massive puddles all over of course. I didnt find it that hard to bowl fast but that could be because the turf I played on wasn't that affected by the rain. I vaguely remember having troubles with the follow through but I think I had too much fun to think too much of it.

The ball does some interesting stuff off the pitch though so I can see why batsmen would be against the idea.