Wednesday, February 6, 2002 The new rules have been good for one-day cricket and it is has been fascinating to see how little tweaks can make a big difference. It is important to keep reviewing the rules and ensuring that the game evolves. The best players will always be able to exploit rule changes to their advantage.

I have praised the change in the bouncer rule before. But in Australia we have seen further evidence of how it can add an extra dimension to a one-day contest. Even high-scoring games can be dull if all batsmen are doing is planting their front foot down the pitch and hitting all around the wicket. There is little skill in this batting technique and bowlers are handicapped. Now batsmen have to think twice before committing themselves and the yorker is back as a lethal weapon thanks to the bouncer.

All three teams in the VB Series have impressive pace bowlers and this has meant that they have been able to defend targets in the low 200s. When bouncers were banned, one-day cricket turned into a game for front-foot bullies and sloggers. That era is now over. Bowlers can now attack and really test a batsman's skill.

The bonus point in that series has also been a positive development and I hope it is used in the World Cup. Its main attraction is that it keeps the onus on attack. Even when the side batting second is way off the target, the bowling side has an incentive to finish them off quickly. On the other hand, when the team chasing is going well it has the option of keeping up its momentum and stealing a bonus point. All this keeps the game alive for players and spectators.

While these two rules tilt the balance in favour of the stronger sides there is another rule that I would introduce. One of the major problems for weaker teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe is that their bowling attacks are cannon-fodder. As a result they are heavily punished in the first 15 overs when they have to employ two close catchers without any real prospect of them coming in to play.

Far better to do away with this rule and allow those fielders to be deployed anywhere within the circle throughout the first 15 overs. This would help world cricket's novices to contain the better sides early on. The other benefit is that batsmen would have to become more skilful instead of having licence to thrash. Again, if you are a batsman of real class you will find a way round it.

This rule, in particular, is too harsh on less experienced bowlers who are not able to bowl to such attacking fields. You might say that they should be better bowlers, but that goes against the ambition of nurturing cricket around the world.

Javed Miandad, Pakistan's most prolific batsman and later their coach, was talking to Kamran Abbasi. His column appears every Wednesday.

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