Former Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis has suggested a unique idea to deal with the overly batting-friendly nature of ODI cricket by preserving the art of reverse swing.

The current rules of ODI cricket mandate the use of two new balls from either end, meaning each ball gets effectively used for 25 overs only and not 50. This rule has been in action since October 2011 and has led to ever-increasing scores in the format.

Over time, there have been various suggestions from around the cricket community to do away with the two new balls rule since it prevents balls from getting old enough to reverse, thus providing batters an added advantage of a hard ball to hit in the death overs.

With the ongoing 2023 World Cup having seen teams cross the 350-run mark 11 times, easily the most in a single edition of the World Cup, former Pakistan legend Waqar Younis has come up with a unique idea to bring reverse swing back into play and keep fast bowlers relevant.

In a social media post, Younis suggested the ICC should start with two new balls like they do currently and then take away one of those after the 30-over mark. That way, by the end of 50 overs, the ball in play would have be 35 overs old, making it conducive for fast bowlers to implement reverse swing at the death.

“ODI cricket is too friendly for batters. Suggestion @ICC. 2 new balls to start, take away 1 ball after 30 overs, continue with the other. At the end that ball will only be 35 overs old. We’ll see some reverse at the end. Save the art of #ReverseSwing,” wrote Younis.

ODI cricket is too friendly for batters Suggestion @ICC 2 new balls to start, take away 1 ball after 30 overs, continue with the other. At the end that ball will only be 35 overs old. We’ll see some reverse at the end. Save the art of #ReverseSwing Comments please. pic.twitter.com/TQs5EZJy9Y

— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) November 13, 2023

Mitchell Starc, one of the leading seamers of this generation in ODI cricket, had echoed similar sentiments a couple of days back. Talking to Cricbuzz, Starc mentioned how he feels that only one ball should be used in ODI cricket and not two.

“I still think it should be one ball not two…The ball stays harder for longer,” said Starc, who has taken 10 wickets at 43.90 in the 2023 World Cup so far, a contrast to being the leading wicket-taker in the two previous editions of the competition. “As we’ve seen here, the grounds are quite small, wickets are flat. If anything in world cricket wickets have gotten flatter and I think if you look at some of that old footage when they bowled with one ball, reverse swing comes into it a lot more.”

He also said that the advantage of having two new balls up front is negligible for fast bowlers as conventional swing is rarely available for long durations.

“I think just because of the two new balls at the start, I don’t think the balls swings any longer. They swing at the start and unless conditions suit, they don’t swing for very long at all. If anything they stay nicer for batsmen towards the end. So, with that one ball obviously there’s a chance to reverse.”

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