England and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Moeen Ali has slammed the new rules in ODI cricket while lauding former players Lance Klusener and MS Dhoni. He opined on how the rule of two new balls has made things easier for batters, which is one of the reasons why ODI cricket is ‘dying.’
“Somebody asked me about the ODI format, and is it dying? And I just think, for a long time. The rules in ODI cricket are terrible. So we have two basically brand new balls for pretty much the whole innings,” he shared on the ‘Beard Before Cricket’ podcast (via The Indian Express).
Moeen Ali also added how it has become easier for batters, as bowlers are unable to create much pressure.
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“I just feel like it’s a lot easier for the batters. And that’s why you see more batters probably averaging now 50, 60, some even 70, I think, at some stage. It’s because it’s a lot easier for them because you can’t really build pressure as bowlers. It’s so much harder to get wickets in the middle, unless you’ve got gun spinners,” he shared.
“In one-day cricket back then, because you had the old ball, reverse swing came into play as well within 30 overs. It’s hard to hit sixes and fours off the older ball. Now, if you look, even when I batted at seven, it was easier to hit. It is easier than it would have been 15 years ago. Because the ball is only, what, 25 overs old? Hard, and so you can still hit the ball and it flies,” he added.
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However, Moeen Ali also gave examples of former cricketers Lance Klusener and MS Dhoni, saying that they were hitting the ‘softest’ balls with the reverse swing in play as well. He also said that it is much harder to hit the ball a long distance in such scenarios.
“Whereas back in the day, guys like Lance Klusener and MS Dhoni, when they were hitting, they were hitting literally the softest ball. Dark, old, and soft. Reverse swing is hard to hit and see as well,” he concluded.
