In the context of the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, we have seen how the Net Run Rate norm has been discussed widely on social media, with Pakistan and New Zealand ending up in a tight race till the other day. Afghanistan was also thrown into the mix. It today became clear that Pak is out of the tournament, with England choosing to bat first.
How tough it was for Pak to enter the Semis on an NRR basis was there for all to see. Many find the NRR business quite confusing (it is not, if you care to learn the calculations) and even boring. Is there a way this can be done away with?
There is a proposal from fans that teams should be rewarded extra points if they win big. "Players should be aware mid-game during the league matches as to how can they earn the extra point. Like chase in 50 overs, you get 2 points. Chase in 42 overs, you get 3 points. It will create a T20-like mini-games in the middle and make it more interesting," writes Gabbbar Singh, a Twitter user with millions of followers.
The proposal might find takers in the ICC in the future. However, purists believe that tinkering with the current rule book will compromise the integrity of the ODI format. "Already, cricket has been damaged by the T20 logic. The ODI needs to be made interesting but it should not come at the cost of making it a T20-like contest every single time," a Facebook user wrote.
