Taylor favours expanded criket grounds for even contests

Sydney, May 17 (UNI) A day after many of the world's leading players publicly issued a vote of no-confidence against ICC's governance of the game, former Australian captain Mark Taylor has called for the expansion of playing fields in order to strike a balance between the bat and ball contest.

Taylor, who is also a member of the ICC's newly constituted cricket committee, said that the shrinking size of playing fields and discolouration of the white ball in ODIs will be two of many issues discussed by the 13-member committee in its meeting next month.

''We seem to have gone the other way with ropes and the standardisation of grounds. We're making the boundaries shorter and yet the players are faster and fitter than during my time in the game and are hitting the ball further. I'm not so sure that's good for the bowlers,'' Taylor was quoted by 'The Australian' as saying.

Taylor's remarks came after the game's governng body had brought in boundaries over recent years to standardise the playing fields and offer players a safety zone between the rope and the fence which had swung the game heavily in favour of batsmen.

ICC standards for boundaries during one-day matches are playing arenas of 110 metres long and 130 metres wide.

The left-hander, who is a member of the Cricket Australia (CA) board, also expressed concerns about the state of white balls used in the modern day ODIs.

''One thing we're all trying to get right is the white ball in one-day cricket. That is something I'm sure will spark a lot of debate,'' he said.

''There has already been quite a bit of chat in cricket circles about whether we should use a new ball from each end or change the ball at a given time during the innings just to make it easier for people to see.'' UNI XC SSC SAM HT1432