There’s an important role of coin toss in cricket and needless to say, every team wants to win the toss so that it can bring into play its strengths by deciding to ball or bat first. This tradition has been continuing for a long time in which the home skipper flips a coin while the captain of the visitor team calls tails or heads.
International Cricket Council (ICC) is aimed at making a lot of improvements in the Test cricket and one of the suggestions in this regard is abandoning coin toss tradition and instead giving the opportunity of decision to the visitor team. This will naturally negate the home team’s chance of getting any benefit from the pitch.
Cricket committee meeting of ICC will take place in Mumbai on 28th and 29th May and then only a decision regarding coin toss will be made.
All the panel members have received a letter according to which,
“Test cricket’s fundamental starting point may be scrapped, as the ICC’s cricket committee prepares to debate whether or not the coin toss should be removed as a way of reducing home ground advantage in the looming Test Championship.”
The letter further read,
“There is serious concern about the current level of home team interference in Test pitch preparation, and more than one committee member believes that the toss should be automatically awarded to the visiting team in each match, although there are some others on the committee who do not share that view.”
The members of the committee are Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, David White, Ranjan Madugalle, Clare Connor, Shaun Pollock, Andrew Strauss, Mahela Jayawardene, Richard Kettleborough and Tim May.
Twitter has actively reacted about the scraping of coin toss and appears to be displeased with the idea. Here are some selected tweets:
Many people have this question:
The ICC would scrap the coin toss and then make sure boards prepared fair pitches. So why don't they just leave tradition alone and enforce better rules for fairer pitch preparation in the first place?
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) May 17, 2018
It will be almost partial:
Don't like it. It will end up with 90% of Tests having the away side batting first
— Simon McLoughlin (@simmomac) May 17, 2018
Why this decision?
– why , this is only part in cricket which is not fixed while most of cricket matches are fixed.
— Rakesh Ahuja (@RakeshKrAhuja) May 17, 2018
Don’t break the traditions:
@ICC some traditions are to be kept as they are. Sad u r changing games to modern music from Indian classical music. No matter what, u find peace and tranquility in Indian classical music only. But you won't understand that. U don't have brains.
— Rahul Oturkar (@RahulOturkar) May 17, 2018
Even cricket is not spared?
https://twitter.com/SRelentlessly/status/997361211774648320
Agree?
https://twitter.com/mohiddinabdulla/status/997077988884725760
It’s unfair! Don’t agree:
https://twitter.com/Lorne_W_Brown/status/997372254974611456
Absolutely rubbish idea:
Absolute rubbish idea. Both teams get to know the conditions before toss and can pick playing 11 accordingly, this decision is going to favor visiting team.
— Varun Kale (@imVarunKale) May 17, 2018
Don’t destroy cricket and excitement:
There Should be toss rule because then home and visiting both teams will know at which venue they will get first and they will be pre-prepared ,
Indirectly there will be toss before some days of match !
Please don't destroy cricket and it's excitement…. @ICC— Sarvesh Surana (@sarvesh_surana) May 17, 2018
LOL 😀
What abt Pakistan 🇵🇰 games in UAE, here both the teams r visiting teams 😂😂😂😂
— Buddy 🗨 (@VK_Buddy14) May 17, 2018
Worst decision:
Wrost dicition..
1st day night test than..
10ovr cricket than..
Remove Champions trophy..
and now removing toss frm test cricket this is totally unfair..
ICC on a mission to destroy Cricket @ICC @ICCMediaComms @ICCLive— 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐍🇮🇳 (@iRoshan25) May 17, 2018
England’s County Championship has been giving the visitor team’s skipper a chance of deciding whether to ball or bat first without coin toss since 2016.
If ICC changes the rule, it will have to be implemented before World Test Championship begins. It will take place the next year and will continue till 2021.
What is your take regarding the scraping of coin toss?