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Eoin Morgan, Steven Smith feel new ODI rules will help bowlers

ICC has scrapped batting power-play besides allowing five fielders to field outside 15-yard circle in last 10 overs.

Eoin Morgan feels that new ODI rules will help bowlers bowl at the death © Getty Images
Eoin Morgan feels that new ODI rules will help bowlers bowl at death © Getty Images

Eoin Morgan and Steven Smith think that the new One Day International (ODI) rules which International Cricket Council (ICC) has made will bridge the gap between bat and ball. According to the older rules only four players were allowed to field outside 15-yards circle in non-power-play overs. This had resulted in a flurry of runs in limited-overs cricket in last two and a half years; which saw Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill break the double century barrier. Rohit Sharma did it twice. Also during ICC Cricket World Cup 2015; 23 out of 48 matches had first innings scores in excess of 300. Now, ICC has revised the rules and has done away with batting power-play. The second revision is that in the last 10 overs of a 50 over match five fielders can field outside the 15-yard circle. The third and final change is the taking away of the rule which required two fielders to be in catching position in the first 10 overs. READ: Rohit Sharma’s 264 vs Sri Lanka: An era-defining ODI innings

In a conversation with Cricket Australia, Smith said, “I think they [totals] might come down a little bit. But I think you see these days, in T20 cricket for ­instance, guys can go over 10 an over for the last 10 overs. If you have got wickets in the shed anything is possible. That’s our plan anyway, to make sure we’ve got wickets in the shed, to make sure we can go quite hard at the back end. The guys are so strong these days they can clear the rope with five out.”

Morgan thinks that the new rules would help bowlers when they bowl in the last 10 overs, “I think you’ll have to be more spot-on. A lot of guys look at it the other way – another man out, you have an extra [type of] ball to bowl, work a line and bowl three different lengths as opposed to just two.” ALSO READ: All you need to now about the new ODI, T20I rules

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