Brett Lee calls for ODI pitches with 'grass protection'

The first One Day International match was played between Australia and England at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground way back in 1971. The sport has come a long way and several changes have been brought forth. Previously, 60 overs used to be played which was later revised to 50. Earlier, scores of 200-250 used to put the skids under the teams, but currently, a score of 350 isn’t considered safe.

The pitches in ODIs have helped the batsmen to a significant extent. From the shortening of boundaries to increase of bat-size, the game hasn’t helped the bowlers much. Recently, the highest ever ODI score of 481 by England was notched versus Australia. In 2011, the concept of two news ball from either end was introduced and it was later deemed to be ‘recipe for disaster’ by Sachin Tendulkar.

Virat Kohli also reckoned the same to be an ominous prospect for bowlers in ODI cricket. However, Brett Lee, the former Australian cricketer thinks otherwise. The speedster doesn’t feel that a couple of new balls can be hazardous to the sport.

“That for me is the simplest strategy”- Lee

”I don’t assume there’s a problem in the event that they use one ball in 50 overs or two balls. Having two new balls in someday cricket can help the bowlers, “Lee was quoted as saying by the media. Nevertheless, he admitted that the ball won’t be conducive to reverse-swing. “It doesn’t get sufficiently old for reverse swing,” he added.

Moreover, he called for pitches to be stitched with a tinge of grass in order to sustain the balance between the bat and ball. ”What the bowlers need are the wickets. They have to get wickets that (are) not totally flat (batting tracks) where someone scores 400 or someone gets a 450 score … I still think that a 250-280 score, max, is a good total.

“It’s essential to make sure a conducive pitch with good grass protection. That for me is the simplest strategy to do it … I’m not saying have a precise inexperienced prime, however simply have one thing for the bowlers to work with,” the New South Wales-born cricketer mentioned.

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