Can the Toss be abolished from Test cricket?
A few months ago, there was a lot of rumble surrounding this particular issue when it came to Test cricket. Can the Toss be done away with? The interesting discussion comes in a bid to neutralize the pitches prepared by the home teams which overwhelmingly work in their favour. One of the main ideas was to give the visiting captain a choice to bat or bowl after having studied the pitch.
I
Why this discussion now?
The discussion arose between Kumar Sangakkara and Michael Holding on the air for Sky Cricket during England vs. India Test match at Lords. Both opined that sometimes along with the conditions, toss plays a crucial role in home team's dominance in a series.
As it turned out, it was a lucky toss to win for Joe Root as India struggled under overcast conditions and rain interruptions. Though Indian batsmen did not bat well enough and exhibit the grit, the toss does come into the picture on occasion like these.
Can this be a possibility?
Absolutely!
In England, the England Cricket Board (ECB) have been following a similar method in their Four-day county matches. The visiting captain can opt to bowl first without tossing the coin. A toss is in place if he doesn't want to bowl first.
The aim of the regulation was to prevent the home team prepare the pitches in their own favour. Along with it, the focus was also on to ensure that the game lasts the full four days, thereby giving ample opportunities to the spinners to develop their game. A more general aim was to reinforce the county cricket's role in preparing players for the challenges of International cricket.
As per the statistics for the year 2016:
1. 85% of matches went into a fourth day, compared to 74% in 2015 – the 2016 figure was the highest percentage since 2009.
2. The average score for the first innings of a match was 332, slightly up from 325 in 2015. It was the highest in the last five years.
3. The average score for the second innings of a match was 343, well up from 290 in 2015, and again the highest in the last five years.
4. A total of 10,094 overs of spin, compared to 8,643 in 2015 – the highest since 2011.
(Source: Kent Cricket)
Following the success of 2016, the trend has been functional since then.
With the ICC Test Championship starting with Ashes 2019, toss factor once again becomes a matter of debate with home teams having the upper hand. So it's never a bad idea to nullify home team advantage by following County Championship model at an International level too.
However, from a true cricket fan's perspective, the wait only gets longer for such a rule to materialize as the Cricket Committee panel appointed by ICC were against abolishing the toss. Instead, they stressed on improving the quality of pitches for Test matches.
“The Committee discussed whether the toss should be automatically awarded to the visiting team but felt that it was an integral part of Test cricket which forms part of the narrative of the game,” the ICC statement had said after the meeting in May 2018.
What do you think about Toss factor? Let us know in the comments section below.