The 2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup will be held in India and teams have started preparing for the marquee event. Among the various factors that the participants will be wary of includes the dew which has virtually given the team batting second (under the lights) an unfair advantage.
For a long time now, teams winning the toss have been opting to bowl first considering how the arrival of dew ends up playing a major role in the chase with the ball getting wet and difficult to get hold of.
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India star Ravichandran Ashwin has a suggestion to negate this factor by starting the day-night matches a couple of hours early than the current time of 1:30 PM (IST).
“My suggestion – or rather my opinion – for the World Cup is to look at what venues we are playing in, and at what times. Why shouldn’t we start matches at 11.30am during the World Cup?” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin pointed out the recent example of how in the chase of a mammoth total of 374 against India in Guwahati, Sri Lanka were able to recover from 206/8 to cut down the defeat margin to 67 runs.
“India batted beautifully on a slow wicket (in Guwahati) and posted a score well above par. Still they ended up having to fight tooth and nail,” Ashwin said.
“The quality difference between the teams isn’t coming through – dew is narrowing that gap if you happen to lose the toss,” he added.
Day-night ODIs in India usually start around 1:30 PM (IST) keeping in mind the TV viewing audiences in the country. The timing allows the matches to last till the prime time, ensuring maximum eyeballs.
However, Ashwin suggests that a world cup match will inevitably draw people.
“People will bring up television viewers and broadcasters, and say that people won’t latch on and watch at that time, but would they not latch on to World Cup matches?” Ashwin said.
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“The recent T20 World Cup was also held in winter, prioritising the summer (for Australia’s home bilateral season). It wasn’t the ideal scenario – T20 is a fast-paced game, how can you play it in winter? People will say that’s not the case in Australia, but still, we need to prioritise World Cups,” he added.
Ashwin says fans will watch world cup matches even if they start at 11:30 am.
“The ICC knows very well that there will be dew, so let’s advance the game, and if we start at 11.30am, the dew factor won’t come into the game, and why not? Won’t all cricket fans prioritise the World Cup and watch matches at 11.30?” the 36-year-old said.
He said teams like England have already started mulling over the extent of impact dew will play in India during the world cup.
“ECB recently invited applications for the analyst’s position, and – I came to know this through some analysts I know – one of the important questions they asked was, ‘How big a factor is dew in Indian conditions in white-ball cricket?'” Ashwin said.
He continued, “They’re looking to bring in the best analytical tools possible ahead of the 2023 World Cup, and they’ve asked all the pertinent questions, so you can see how crucial everyone in world cricket thinks the dew factor is in Indian conditions.”
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