If you could change one law/rule in Test cricket?

[RossTaylorsBox]

Most batters are just going to smash those balls on the legside anyway, it's not like they plan to get leg byes. Fielding errors are irrelevant, the fundamental aspect of batsmanship is using a bat to hit the ball.

 

[srbhkshk]

Hey - it's a family sport!

Nowhere in the Laws does it actually state that both teams must consider cricket a family sport in a match, or that the balls have to even be hidden at the start of the innings.

Get rid of that playing condition and let the chaos reign. I want a bowler reverse swinging his old balls at one end, with a swinging new **** at the other. Get spinners on first change with a ragged SG, and if the balls gets lost let the bowler dig into their kit bag for whatever they have on hand. Batters get to pick their own bats, it's only fair to let the bowlers pick their balls.

 

[_00_deathscar]

Really feel that there should be double-plays in cricket.

Jadeja GOAT confirmed

 

[honestbharani]

Nowhere in the Laws does it actually state that both teams must consider cricket a family sport in a match, or that the balls have to even be hidden at the start of the innings.

Get rid of that playing condition and let the chaos reign. I want a bowler reverse swinging his old balls at one end, with a swinging new **** at the other. Get spinners on first change with a ragged SG, and if the balls gets lost let the bowler dig into their kit bag for whatever they have on hand. Batters get to pick their own bats, it's only fair to let the bowlers pick their balls.

And Afridi is happy.

 

[nightprowler10]

Make bottlecaps legal.

 

[Red]

The boundary rule where if the fielder is touching the ball while over/on the line, even when the ball itself is still inside the boundary, it’s considered 4.

Makes no sense. Disregard the fielder’s body. The only factor that should count is the ball physically going over the boundary.

 

[subshakerz]

Without leg byes bowlers are just going to attack the batsman's body more. That won't be a good balance.

And even actual runs are often the result of fielding errors. Are we going to disallow misfields and overthrows too?

Its not like a bowler is afraid of giving leg byes and therefore they wont attack the body of a batsman. Actual runs are fundamentally a result of a batsman connecting with the ball.

 

[subshakerz]

Batsmen aren't rewarded. The batting team is rewarded, because the opposition fielding wasn't good enough to prevent them from completing their run.

Why should they be allowed to run in the first place if they are not good enough to connect?

The most annoying part of the end overs of a LOI is seeing batsman slog, miss and then run.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Without leg byes bowlers are just going to attack the batsman's body more.

Do you . . . actually think that?

 

[OverratedSanity]

Why should they be allowed to run in the first place if they are not good enough to connect?

The most annoying part of the end overs of a LOI is seeing batsman slog, miss and then run.

Most batters are just going to smash those balls on the legside anyway, it's not like they plan to get leg byes. Fielding errors are irrelevant, the fundamental aspect of batsmanship is using a bat to hit the ball.

Again, batsmen arent getting runs so it has nothing to do with batsmanship. Running byes/leg byes is a purely unselfish endeavour for the team. The fielding team can stop them running if they're good enough.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

The logical conclusion to that is you should be allowed to just kick the ball with your pads and run, the only difference being that runs are added to the team score instead of your score.

 

[Anil]

In before someone makes the insane suggestion that we get rid of the law that states you can't be out LBW to a ball that pitches outside leg.

damn i was going to mention this...

 

[harsh.ag]

Some good suggestions here.

Mankading should result in -5 runs for the batting side in tests.

Chaos to reign in LOs where it will be -1 run combined with no running between the wickets for the next ball. The batsman has to try and hit it for a boundary. Basically the batting version of a free hit after a no ball.

 

[NotMcKenzie]

The logical conclusion to that is you should be allowed to just kick the ball with your pads and run, the only difference being that runs are added to the team score instead of your score.

Except the law explicitly prevents you doing that.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Yeah that's why I said "should be allowed to"

 

[Gnske]

the law of attraction

 

[Shady Slim]

The logical conclusion to that is you should be allowed to just kick the ball with your pads and run, the only difference being that runs are added to the team score instead of your score.

in hockey a goal can come off your skate as long as you don't kick it, so if it's an unintended ricochet the goal counts, and not only is it counted but it is also awarded to the person off whom it ricochets tbh

so what you're talking about, similar reductio ad absurdums have been accounted for and fixed in other sports tbh

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Shady I will fight you in irl if you disagree with me on this.

 

[Daemon]

Yup. 100% agree.

I dont really understand why leg byes are so wrong when byes arent? I could even argue byes are even more unfair because the batsman has missed it altogether, why should he be allowed to run? They're both built on the same principle i.e forcing keepers (for byes) and fielders (for leg byes) to be alert and try to stop the batsmen from running.

However, Im open to the idea that evasive action leg byes shouldnt count as runs, maybe

Eh, byes are almost alway down to keepers fumbling or bowlers going too short/wide. Fair enough to punish them for it.

Leg byes on the other hand are down to what? Certainly not bad fielding or field positioning. Maybe a case for leg byes through bad bowling down the leg but if it’s that bad a ball then the batsman should be able to put it away anyways. Why punish the fielding team and reward the batting team for failing to put away a bad ball (assuming it’s a bad ball in the first place).

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Daemon can you consult your spreadsheet to figure out which batsmen have "scored" the largest number of leg byes