While cricket is a bat-and-ball game, there’s hardly any balance left in the sport. We often see batters dominate throughout a match.
But bowlers? Well, they keep getting hammered no matter where they bowl. And if it’s limited-overs cricket, then there’s no hiding.
The conditions pretty much favour the batters. If that isn’t enough, certain rules make run-scoring even easier.
One particular rule that perhaps worked against bowlers was using two balls from both ends in an ODI innings. Now that rule is history, with the ICC introducing some changes.
What are those tweaks? Let’s understand the new two-ball rule implemented in ODI cricket.
Two-Ball Rule in ODIs
As you know, bowling teams bowl with two balls from either end in 50-over cricket. So, as per the old rule, teams bowled 25 overs with one ball and the other 25 with the second one.
This kept the balls hard for a longer time. But since the ball wasn’t used for long, there wasn’t much wear and tear. As a result, bowlers found it difficult to bowl towards the end, with not many variations.
But, with some tweaks, that won’t be the case any longer. While bowling teams will still begin with two new balls, there’s a small change.
So what changes?
The two balls will be in use from either end till the completion of the 34th over of an ODI innings. Then the bowling side can pick one of the two balls and continue to bowl the remaining 16 overs.
So, rather than the 25-25 overs approach, the ICC has gone with the 33-17 overs method. That means teams will now bowl 33 overs with one ball and the rest 17 with the other.
And for a reduced ODI match of 25 or fewer overs per innings, bowling teams can bowl with a single ball throughout the innings.
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How will bowlers benefit from the tweak?
The small rule change will be beneficial for the overall game. This might result in balanced contests, more so in death overs.
With a slightly old ball at their disposal, fast bowlers can bring the reverse swing into the picture. Plus, spinners will be able to extract some turn with the old ball. This, obviously, will add some excitement to the game.
The new two-ball rule will come into effect in men’s ODI cricket on July 2, 2025. So it will be interesting to see how the rule change will influence the game.
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