T20 World Cup 2022: Australia adopts new technique to avoid fielding restriction penalties by using `extra fielders`, fans say `that is smart`

Australia, led by Aaron Finch are ready to take on New Zealand in their opening encounter at T20 World Cup 2022 on Saturday (October 22). The Aussies are the defending champions and the hosts. They are billed as one of the favourites to win the trophy. But history tells us that no country has ever defended their title in T20 World Cups. That is why Finch and Co want to write history this time. They are leaving no stone unturned to prepare for the tournament and even the smallest details are being taken care of. This is what we are going to talk about here. 

Australia have come up with a unique way to tackle the new ICC rule, as per which teams are penalised during the match. That is the in-match penalty for slow over rates. The rule states that a fielding side must be in position to bowl the first ball of the final over of the innings by the scheduled or rescheduled time for the end of the innings. If they are not in such a position, one fewer fielder will be permitted outside of the 30-yard circle for the remaining overs of the innings.

The rule was in place during the Asia Cup 2022 and it made an impact during India matches. The rule forces captains to bowl their overs quickly. 

Australia want to avoid such a situation during the death overs in the T20 World Cup. That is the reason they have come up with 'extra fielders' on the boundary ropes technique. The benched players won't just hang around in the dugout but will be used to receive the balls hit to the boundaries and throw them back quickly. This is aimed at saving that extra second or seconds which could turn out to be crucial in the end. They used it in the T20Is vs England recently. 

"In the powerplay, obviously the ball flies around and you lose time when players have to go and fetch the ball which is a part of cricket. So the time thing is a really difficult one to manage. So I guess stationing the guys who are on the bench around the ground does save you 10 seconds here and there. Potentially. And that all adds up at the end of the day. It’s not really giving you an advantage, it just makes sense. I think it’s common sense in the powerplay to do that," Australian all-rounder Ashton Agar was quoted as saying on cricket.com.au.

Fans say that this is what makes Australia stand out. They feel that this is one of the smartest moves in T20s and something that other teams may also look to do in years to come.