cricket

Updated: Jan 07, 2019 16:40 IST

The toss has been a matter of huge debate in recent times with many pundits wanting the International Cricket Council to do away with the process. And now, former Australia spinner Shane Warne has said that the visiting teams should be allowed to decide on whether they wish to bat or bowl and the process of tossing the coin should be scrapped. This process has been followed in county cricket in the last three seasons with the visiting skipper taking a call.

“The visiting team, in this instance it would be India, they choose what they want to do in every Test match,” Warne was quoted as saying by Fox Sports. “The same goes on in India, so if India want to prepare huge turning wickets, Australia say ‘we bat first’.

“If Australia want to produce green seaming wickets, they (India) decide we’re going to bowl first. Get rid of the toss, the away team chooses what they want to do.”

Former Australia captain Allan Border has also spoken about going forward with the idea of letting the visiting team decide, on a trial-basis, just to see if that brings in more balance and context into the game. Visiting teams have over the years found it extremely tough to make a comeback into the game after losing the toss.

“I’m in the camp for no toss and letting the visiting side decide,” Border told foxsports.com.au in July. “Traditionally it shouldn’t play such an important role in the game but it has become that way.

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“I don’t think we need to fiddle around with Test cricket too much but it has become an issue because all visiting sides feel like they get stitched up by pitch preparation. Of course, the only way to do these things is to trial them first.”

But former Australia skipper Steve Waugh begs to differ with the duo and feels that the tradition shouldn’t be done away with. “Leave the toss as is,” he said on Fox Cricket. “Sometimes the toss is not as important as you think. For example in Melbourne we were going to bowl first. We lost the toss, India batted. No, I think just leave the toss, that’s the way it is.

“If the pitches get too much in favour of the home team, you’ve got an ICC match referee there, they give marks for the pitch.”