Subject:      ICC Prank
From:         ESH.GOHIL@P52GOHIL@P52.MCH2.siemens.net>
Date:         1997/04/01
Message-Id:   <33417653.7ABD@P52.MCH2.siemens.net>
Newsgroups:   rec.sport.cricket


April fools prank by the ICC. I hope it was true. Then Jayasuriya 
will go on to hit a 50 in just 5 balls.

A CricInfo Special Report

April 1st 1997

A suprise decision by the ICC has cricket statisticians confused
and angry. The ICC has ruled that from now on the boundary
previously rewarded with 6 runs will be worth 10. The move is
designed to encourage big hitting and exciting cricket. An ICC
spokesman is quoted as saying "The crowd likes nothing better
than a sixer - yet the danger of hitting the ball in the air is
such that many will not attempt big hits. With 10 runs as a
reward, the risk will seem much more acceptable. We look forward
to faster scoring rates, and new records being set." It is
believed that the rule change was proposed by Sri Lanka, who
stand to benefit more than most.

Statisticians are furious, believing that such a drastic change
will make averages and other records meaningless. Recent
computerized scoring software will have to reprogrammed. The
last such rule change was in the 19th Century, when the boundary
rope was introduced (before this a six had to be hit out of the
ground). The rule will come into effect as of today (April 1st).
Earlier reports that the rule change would be retroactively
applied to all games played in 1997 proved incorrect, as it was
found that the results of several one-day internationals would
be reversed.

<END> Contributed by Loof Lirpa (loof@cricket.org)

Jayesh Gohil.
Siemens AG

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