"Have the 3 on-duty commentators make DRS calls" - AB de Villiers' peculiar advice to make cricket more entertaining
AB de Villiers believes cricket should make the commentators vote on DRS-worthy close calls instead of having a third umpire as it'd make the sport "very entertaining" to watch.
De Villiers' extraordinary suggestion came in reply to a post by former English international Kevin Pietersen. The latter had said a new rule where sixes over 100 meters in distance will be given as 12 runs was "on its way".
"Last idea. Have the three non-duty commentators make DRS/close-call decisions and talk the public through it. Quick vote between the 3 if it’s out or not out, and then make the decision. Would be very entertaining with close calls (like whether the ball bounced with a catch or not)," de Villiers said.
"Or whether the snicko spikes happened at the time the ball actually passed the bat or not🤷♂️3 is better than 1😄," he added.
On the first perusal, the idea seems difficult to execute. Unlike the umpires, the commentators aren't chosen by the ICC for all series and tournaments. Instead, they are picked by the broadcasters based on their communication skills.
These commentators are sometimes different for all regions based on language. This means that to make it more entertaining, cricket will have to show an important phase of the game to all audiences in just one language. If that's English, a big fraction of the audience around the world won't understand it.
Umpires also go through significant DRS training before getting into the box. Commentators, on the other hand, are often former cricketers and veteran journalists, who'd need to be given at least some technical knowledge beforehand.
"Upside down six" - AB de Villiers' suggestion for the 100+ six
De Villiers also said that 12 runs for a big six would be "too big" and cricket should look for giving eight or nine runs instead. He feels that because the number nine is a vertical mirror image of six would add another interesting factor to it.
"12 is too big, I think 8 or 9(upside down 6) is good. Can’t jump from 4 to 6 to 12," de Villiers said.
The Proteas legend also offered a cajole that cricket would need to enhance its six-distance measuring technology before it goes in this direction.
"I’ve been saying for a while we need to get technology to be more accurate with the distance(like in golf). Absolutely can’t have some random guy in a box thumb-suck the distance. Been bothering me for ages"
The only out-of-the-box innovations cricket has accepted of late are the Impact Player rule in the IPL and the Power Surge in the Big Bash League.