What if cricket had four stumps instead of three
This might sound outrageously insane and nonsensical but it kind of makes sense in a cricketing world dominated by batsmen. Ever since cricket started gaining main-stream popularity in terms of the revenues it started generating, we have seen a major decline in the quality of cricket that is sometimes celebrated.
The idea of having four stumps was actualised by former New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe in Cricket Max. The idea seems really baseless, but it's just another opinion on how bowlers can be given justice in this game where batsmen take all the credit and fun.
In a world that celebrates cricket with their favourite batsmen going for the big shots and hitting runs all around the stadium, we have failed to appreciate the bowlers who are also in the same profession.
The very idea that seems to have resided in the minds of every individual that high-scoring games are interesting has crept up the ladder into becoming a common misconception about the game. Batsmen are enjoying all kinds of advantages over the bowlers and this just doesn't stop at the popularity and revenues they snatch from multinational companies in an extra income that is bestowed upon them.
But the very idea that batting equipment is getting smarter and better with the grounds only getting smaller per year, it causes a great problem for the game which has now become a spectacle to see the ball out of the stadium all the time.
There is batting powerplay to enable more runs and lighter bats which strong finish to ensure hard-hitting sixes. Bowlers, on the other hand, have remained to be the real hard workers of the game, trying to get the wicket in whichever way they can. Even if this means, getting hit for a couple of sixes to lure the batsmen into getting caught by the fielder. It's the bowlers who have learned to play the mental game behind cricket into stopping a batsman from scoring, all the while batsmen enjoy a great time waiting for the next ball to hit it out of the ground.
What if cricket had four stumps? The idea is very simple even if it sounds outrageously insane today. Four stumps ensures that the bowler has a wicket to target and that batsmen cannot block all the balls with his pads or with the bat right in front.