What changes would you make to our favourite sports?

Everyone wants to rule the world. Not really, but when it comes to sporting events, nothing frustrates fans more than outdated or incomprehensible rules affecting the competition.

We gave our journalists the opportunity to change a rule for the development of the sport.

C.rickets: Appropriate penalties for slow rates

We didn’t get enough games in the just-concluded Ashes series. And only part of the blame for this can fall at the hands of England’s hapless batsmen.

Both sides were at fault for consistently falling short of the mandatory 90 overs a day. The outrageous rate, which surprised the ticket-buying public, was variously described as “a joke”, “ridiculous” and “unheard of” – but despite the backlash early in the series, nothing has changed.

Was this a natural consequence of the diminishing role of spin bowling, or was it gamesmanship? I don’t know. But what we do know is that the current penalties (withholding World Test Championship points and reducing match fees for players) have little or no impact on solving the problem. Especially when most of these guys are making millions playing T20 cricket; The fine does not touch the sides.

So hit them where it really hurts: the scoreboard. For every pitch not scored, six more runs must be added to the batting team’s total. There are no exceptions. Put this in place and watch how games magically speed up. Thank us later.
Vince Rugari

Rugby league: Try and try again

You have just earned a trial point and can make the mandatory conversion attempt. What if instead of just increasing your score by two points, you had the option to cancel the conversion right after to get another chance at it?

Here’s how it works: The attacking team gets one play to attempt a three-point “conversion” attempt. The game begins with a kick in the middle of the 20 meter line and ends when a tackle is completed or a try is scored.

There is a huge advantage for all parties: the attacking team gets a chance to go further, defenders are rewarded if they can resist the opposition and fans see more attacking football. We’ve already seen the excitement of a two-point shot, so you can imagine the excitement of a seven-point “double try”.

Best of all, teams trying to score bonus points will have worked on set plays that may include high bombs to involve the game’s best jumpers. It’s a win, win, win.
Adrian Proszenko

AFL: Sherrin needs some acne

In 1880 Thomas William Sherrin invented an Australian icon bearing his surname. The handmade leather Sherrin has been a beloved mainstay in Australian Football ever since. A photo was even taken of US President Obama throwing a ball to then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the White House. Traditions are important, but so are fans, especially potential fans.

To the uninformed, and some would argue, the ignorant, AFL often seems like a never-ending mess. The red or yellow leather pill bounces wildly as players fight for possession of the ball like pigeons fighting for chips on the ground.

What makes the play better as a spectacle? More tracks and cleaner possession, especially in inclement weather.

The AFL has never been afraid of innovation, even when it was clearly unwise; Who can forget AFLX and its Zooper goals? To give a better showing, why not try the slightly dimpled rubber grip on the Sherrin, not unlike those on rugby balls?

If this seems disrespectful, the AFL could at least undertake some time to get used to the new ball, which would not only make it easier for players to hold on under pressure, but also for umpires trying to get the perfect center bounce.

In American Football, the ball is lovingly “mudded” for days to ensure the quarterback has a much better grip. The AFL could look at a standardized process to drive more purchases of the ball to create a much better viewing experience.
Jonathan Drennan

Tennis: Let’s get physical

There is nothing more disappointing than watching a player serve at 140 mph on match point and the referee bending the net cable and saying ‘Let’s serve first’.

To give permission? Are you kidding me? The crowd is already on its feet and the ball has barely bounced into the net.

Let’s (see what I did there) get rid of it. Players do not stop a point if the ball hits the net mid-rally; In fact, this may be the moment that draws ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the crowd as it throws a wrench into the flow of the game. So why is it in the service?

This will not only speed up the game but also make the game more exciting and unpredictable for fans.
Billie Eder

Football: Pull the trigger on new penalty shootouts

First, a disclaimer: football is inherently perfect; or rather, it is as close to perfect as possible before VAR and the recent reforms to the handball rule. However, going back to the way things were is not actually in line with the spirit of this exercise. It’s very easy to scrap VAR.

If I had to change the rules of the game in a new way, I would replace the penalty shootout with the ice hockey-style variation that our American friends introduced to the football world in the 1970s.

Broken clocks are right twice a day. Accordingly, the Yankees’ disrespectful experience of the world game during the North American Soccer League era (and the early days of Major League Soccer) wasn’t all bad. In this unfortunately short-lived format, the penalty taker was given five seconds to score from 35 yards out. It was up to them how they did it: they could ping with their first touch, or they could try to dribble around the goalkeeper, or they could make any move they wanted.

It was a much more balanced contest between the penalty taker and the goalkeeper and was much more entertaining to watch than the standard 10-yard shoot-out. I would personally retain the ‘traditional’ penalty kick for in-match penalties and only use the American method in games that are not decided after 120 minutes of football; so I would make it less of a lottery and more of a test of skill.

Consider also the words of Johan Cruyff, former midfielder for the Los Angeles Aztecs and Washington Diplomats: “I thought it was great. I still think Europe should try it.” If Cruyff thought it was worth a look, who are you to argue?
Vince Rugari

Rugby: Ban the Bomb Squad

How much time do we have? With a law book running to 150 pages, rugby is the most confusing sport for outsiders to engage in. Such are the laws in force at any given time (ever seen a breakdown?), the referee can choose to cancel a penalty from a multitude of sins or ignore them all.

If our late colleague Wayne Smith At the time of writing this, there would be a feisty debate about banning pet hate: the rolling mallet (which he argued was a legal impediment). There is a fair argument, at least in this area, that the ball should be played after one stoppage rather than twice. Or you can set aside the law of deliberate destruction, or be even stricter about the dreaded pile of permanent pips that facilitate those endless box hits.

But let’s poke the bear and ban the “Bomb Squad”, which had as many as seven new forwards coming off the bench in the last 20-30 minutes. Having six or seven forwards on an eight-man bench, with most of them deployed at the same time, was a tactic introduced by South Africa and now used by England.

Essentially a completely new forward package with fresh legs. In this ‘finishers’ arms race, combining impact players with the bench is now increasingly becoming a necessity.

In a game where players are bigger and stronger than ever before, defenses are abrasive and running the ball has been abandoned for the safe options of contested kicks and rolling strikes, games are not even being opened late due to fatigue.

Here’s the solution: you take eight reserves, but a maximum of five forwards. If you want, you can throw all five forward at the same time. However, if injuries occur after that, any substituted players cannot return. A support may return, but only with uncontested attacks and the loss of a player elsewhere.

The more tired players on the field in the last half hour, the better. Fitness will be important and teams will look to run the ball and take advantage of tired legs to plug gaps. It might even start to look like rugby again.
Iain Payten

Golf: Get into the swing

Golf may already be the slowest sport in the world, but nearly every weekend hacker knows what it means to belittle the slowest player of the slowest sport in the world. The person who takes ages to pick out a club, who practices a ridiculous number of times, stands on the ball for so long that the grass grows 10 centimeters before he hits the ball.

This is mostly a stalemate for amateurs, but the problem with rules regarding speed of play is that they seem more like a suggestion. Rule 5.6 addresses the fast pace of the game and states: “It is advisable to take the shot. within 40 seconds at most after you [or should be] “Can play without interference or distraction”. There are professional players out there who take much longer than that, especially when negotiating a difficult putt on the green. Penalties range from a strike to disqualification, but it is rare for them to be actually meted out on the professional tour.

In 2017, the PGA Tour imposed a stroke penalty for slow play for the first time since Glen “All” Day at the 1995 Honda Classic, when Argentina’s Brian Campbell and Miguel Angel Carballo were issued a one-stroke penalty as a team for taking too long in the first round of the Zurich Classic. Maybe it’s time for the shot clock?
Emma Kemp

Basketball: Let’s get started

Constant parades to the free throw line at the end of games are a surefire way to dampen the excitement of contests. The last few minutes of a match can last a very long time.

Fans want to see stars decide the contest based on overall play, not teams targeting and fouling the weakest free throw shooters on the opposing team. Remember when Shaquille O’Neal once threw a brick into the basket? It was so bad that it was called Hack-A-Shaq and gave rise to many other versions.

Correction? Eliminate the idea of ​​intentional fouling by changing the free throw rules in the last two minutes of the game. It would still be two shots, but you only need to take one shot to get two points. If you screw up the first one you gain two points; save some time and continue the game.

Plus, before they get too much of a break in the NBA, it’s unlikely they’ll go anywhere. That’s because TV stations want them and pay big money to have them through rights deals. As a result, team owners and players make more money, which will allow everyone to continue wearing Gucci loafers and vacationing in Turks and Caicos.
Paul Zalunardo