When the drinks-carrier became the talk of the town
Gloomy conditions ensured that the new ODI rules were a damp squib
Ranajit Dam
08-Jul-2005
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The much-anticipated attempt to rejuvenate one-day cricket took place under gloomy skies at Headingley, where a capacity crowd watched the new ODI rules come into effect for the first time. Sky Sports duly made its own contribution by introducing terms like "powerplay" and "supersub" into the cricketing lexicon. But with Australia's waning dominance turning the match into a rather one-sided affair, cricket watchers were still left undecided as to whether the rules would make the games more exciting, or merely more confusing. This is what they saw:
Vik the semi-sub
A sure shot question for trivia fiends three years from now. Vikram Solanki came on for Simon Jones right after Jones had completed an economical ten overs, thus becoming the first fully-functional substitute in cricketing history. The logic, one assumes, was that England would prefer the batting services provided by Solanki to that of Jones. In any event, Solanki sat in the balcony and cheered his captain and Marcus Trescothick to a facile nine-wicket win. Much like Jones did.
A sure shot question for trivia fiends three years from now. Vikram Solanki came on for Simon Jones right after Jones had completed an economical ten overs, thus becoming the first fully-functional substitute in cricketing history. The logic, one assumes, was that England would prefer the batting services provided by Solanki to that of Jones. In any event, Solanki sat in the balcony and cheered his captain and Marcus Trescothick to a facile nine-wicket win. Much like Jones did.
The real supersub (well ... somewhat)
Brad Hogg, the Australian supersub replaced Matthew Hayden, and had a slightly more useful day. Not only did Hogg send down six overs, he also picked up the wicket of Andrew Strauss, who for a change did not succumb to a Brett Lee yorker. Not that it mattered a great deal: Strauss was replaced by Michael Vaughan, who smacked an unbeaten 59 off 65 balls to seal the issue.
Brad Hogg, the Australian supersub replaced Matthew Hayden, and had a slightly more useful day. Not only did Hogg send down six overs, he also picked up the wicket of Andrew Strauss, who for a change did not succumb to a Brett Lee yorker. Not that it mattered a great deal: Strauss was replaced by Michael Vaughan, who smacked an unbeaten 59 off 65 balls to seal the issue.
Cryptic signals
Umpires Mark Benson and Rudi Koertzen were entrusted with the job of unleashing two more indecipherable signals on an unsuspecting public. Circles in the air denote the introduction of powerplays, while the bringing on of a supersub is signaled by the fingers of the left hand touching the palm of the right, a bit like the NBA 'time-out' sign. Watch out for more signals in the future, like the one that formally announces a change in Kevin Pietersen's hairstyle, or the one that declares that Jason Gillespie's bowling is now officially "garbage."
Umpires Mark Benson and Rudi Koertzen were entrusted with the job of unleashing two more indecipherable signals on an unsuspecting public. Circles in the air denote the introduction of powerplays, while the bringing on of a supersub is signaled by the fingers of the left hand touching the palm of the right, a bit like the NBA 'time-out' sign. Watch out for more signals in the future, like the one that formally announces a change in Kevin Pietersen's hairstyle, or the one that declares that Jason Gillespie's bowling is now officially "garbage."
Powerplays that weren't
Unhelpful conditions for the Australian batsmen, and a gettable target for Vaughan's men meant that powerplay 3 (that's the final block of five overs, for all you ageing purists out there) wasn't really taken advantage of. Both Ricky Ponting and Vaughan finished off their powerplays at one go. Hopefully circumstances at Lord's will be different.
Unhelpful conditions for the Australian batsmen, and a gettable target for Vaughan's men meant that powerplay 3 (that's the final block of five overs, for all you ageing purists out there) wasn't really taken advantage of. Both Ricky Ponting and Vaughan finished off their powerplays at one go. Hopefully circumstances at Lord's will be different.