Cricket - Tossing 'THE TOSS'

What should be an Alternate system to toss 'THE TOSS' in cricket?

In this technological and modern era of how the game of cricket has evolved with "Pink" ball, day night test match cricket, dynamic t-20's and power plays, tossing the coin before a cricket match is still in place which every Classic cricket fan loves to see. With so much of pre-match analysis even a person who is acquaintance to cricket will predict how would the match progress based on result of the "TOSS".

Before toss:

Both the team gets chance to look at the pitch to assess how would it behave during the course of the match and decide what they need to do if they win the toss. It also has impact on the selection of the playing eleven.

Does toss really have an edge?

Yes.

Batting first:

•        If the team is uncertain about the nature of the pitch or simply wants to play safe, they often bat first. 

•        If the opposition bowling is strong, batting first is often considered a good option. 

•        Sometimes the nature of the pitch deteriorates while the game progresses, making batting more difficult especially if facing spin bowling. 

•        Another advantage of batting first is that the batting team sets a target for the team batting second to chase. This can create pressure on the opponent team’s batsmen and make them play something unusual.

Batting second:

•        The captain opts to bat second if he is confident that his team can successfully chase any total. 

•        Once the target is known, the team does not have to worry about setting a winnable score. 

•        The team just has to limit the opposition to a low score, and bat well to successfully chase the target. 

•        If the pitch does not deteriorate, batting second is usually a better option. 

•        Another advantage of batting second is during day-night One Day International games, played under lights. In some venues, the cricket ball collects a lot of dew in the outfield. This results in a poor grip on the ball by the bowlers. With a moist ball, it is difficult to spin and swing the ball. 

•        The difficulty in holding the ball also means that the bowler is more likely to be inaccurate, giving the batsmen more chances to free his arms.

Does the team which wins Toss wins the match?

Not exactly, the skills and the application applied on the cricket field has definite impact on the result of the match. but looking at the statistics this is how it looks for the international matches:

Toss result   Win       Lose     Draw      Tie

Win toss      34.6%   31.0%   34.3%    0.1% 

Lose toss     31.0%   34.6%   34.3%    0.1% 

Based on all One Day International matches:

Toss result   Win       Lose     Tie      No Result

Win toss      49.1%   46.9%   0.9%   0.3%

Lose toss     47.3%   48.7%   0.9%   0.3%

With these statistics, definitely it is true that the team that wins the toss has more chances of winning the match but the difference is not so huge, remember more than preparation, execution matters.

Has someone already removed ‘The Toss’ in the modern-day cricket?

The England Cricket Board confirmed they were implementing an experiment to try to encourage the development of spin bowling in the 2016 season of English county championship.

Instead of the toss, something that was recorded as taking place as far back as the 1700s, the visiting team will first have the choice of whether they want to field first. If they don't wish to take up that option, the toss will take place as it always has.

Tossing 'THE TOSS':

To eliminate something that is 2 centuries old is not an easy ask. You need to have something that is engaging the audience as similar to the toss of the coin, imagine the atmosphere in the ground when the captain go to the middle with the match referees to toss the coin during a world cup final. IT IS A PHENOMENAL EXPERIENCE. To match or succeed that level of tension and excitement we need something that also evaluates the skills of the captain rather his luck.