Time for the Free Hit in Tests?

Whilst I feel slightly dirty for even suggesting using such a horribly artificial one day concept in the test game, it does seem that the no ball is being eliminated from one day cricket.

Bowlers are showing that with a sufficietly severe penalty hanging over them they can keep their foot behind the line and overstepping is not just one of those unavoidable things that happens to all fast bowlers but lazy sloppy cricket......

Now, whilst you really don't want to see a compelling session of tight test cricket interupted by a sudden wild slog that belongs in the hit and giggle format, you also don't want to see bowlers continuing to get away with overstepping and slowing down the already pathetic over rate.

So, should all the gimmicks be left to the shorter versions of the game?

No, yea ..., uh huh, hmm .., yes.

Fine Leg wrote:Bowlers are showing that with a sufficietly severe penalty hanging over them they can keep their foot behind the line and overstepping is not just one of those unavoidable things that happens to all fast bowlers but lazy sloppy cricket.....

Except BLee

No, don't want to see unadultorated slogging ruining the spectacle of good old Test cricket (although I think in the days of the back-foot no-ball rule then sometimes batsmen had time to react to the no-ball call and have a slog).

Lets leave the gimmicks for the shorter forms of the game.

There's not much point as run rates aren't as vital in Tests.

Plus the fielding captain could just move all the fielders to the boundary.

Is Fine Leg any relation to Silly Point?

This topic should be in a Hall of Fame somewhere with Eyes Only's "Has Warne ever taken a 5-for in any form of cricket?"

Well, has he?

Don't leave us hanging...

Maybe a 10-run no ball penalty would do the trick.

I think placing land mines just outside the crease would do the job nicely.

Ross wrote:There's not much point as run rates aren't as vital in Tests.

Plus the fielding captain could just move all the fielders to the boundary.

Current "Free Hit" rules are that the field can only change if there is a different batsman on strike ...

I could see it as a tactic though ...The WACA Test against the Saffies when Prince went totally defensive and saved the game ...A few free hits and they may have taken away his defensive mindset

A free hit has no place in test cricket and using it as a weapon against slow over rates is a poor argument in my opinion.

Invader Zim wrote:Is Fine Leg any relation to Silly Point?

That was also my first thought when I read the opening post of the thread.

bah ... this 'fine leg' seems to be a very stoopid person ...

I bet he's Australian.

I bet it's some 'stoopid chick'.

"I bet he's Australian"

"I bet it's some 'stoopid chick'."

Jorja?
Aquarius?

embee wrote:"I bet he's Australian"

"I bet it's some 'stoopid chick'."

Jorja?
Aquarius?

Eyes Only . . . . Warnie . . . . 5-for . . .

Remember OP's advice to Aquarius, after she'd demonstrated ABC's version of 'NSR' for about the 20th post in succession?

'Fix yourself up, girl, you've got a camel toe'.

embee wrote:"I bet he's Australian"

"I bet it's some 'stoopid chick'."

Jorja?
Aquarius?

Jorja. not

Definitely a trouble-maker, though.

lardbucket wrote:Definitely a trouble-maker, though.

Fine leg?

yes ...

Sorry, I thought it was a reasonable topic for discussion and I'm afraid I don't understand your in-house jokes.