Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has advocated a review of on-field safety measures in cricket, saying it would be a good idea to “strengthen any law” that can protect tailenders when they face short-pitched bowling.
The run-up to the Test series between India and Australia was marked by a series of blows to the head and concussion-related substitutes, reviving the debate around the use of bouncers by fast bowlers.
Chappell rejected the idea of banning the delivery altogether. “Any talk of completely banning the bouncer should be dismissed as quickly as bowlers removed New Zealand batting bunny Chris Martin,” Chappell wrote in ESPNcricinfo. Instead, the batting great added, “The time is ripe for a worldwide review into on-field safety, including batsmen, bowlers and umpires, with batting technique a top priority.
“In conducting this review it would be appropriate to strengthen any law regarding the protection of tailenders in facing short-pitched bowling.”
He said complaining about a player not being a like-for-like replacement “seems pointless”. A concussed Ravindra Jadeja being replaced by Yuzvendra Chahal in the T20I series is a case in point.
“The heat rose in this argument when Chahal claimed three wickets and the player of the match award in India’s narrow victory. Complaining about a player not being a like-for-like replacement seems pointless; it’s always going to be difficult to please all parties.”
Chappell also stressed on improving the batsmen’s technique to face the bouncer. “Just addressing the concussion-sub issue doesn’t get to the heart of the matter — it’s the rising number of batsmen hit on the head that then leads to the need for a replacement player.”