PALLEKELE — Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said the new One-Day International rule on field restrictions is disadvantageous to bowlers and could even diminish the role of spinners in the future. Jayawardene said the International Cricket Council rule to restrict the number of outfielders to four, even outside of powerplay overs, heavily favors batsmen. Even though he is a batsman, Jayawardene thinks the move is not in the best interests of the sport and that spinners will be especially affected. “I am not comfortable with these changes. It's not the way to go forward,” Jayawardene said Monday, a day after playing the first ODI under the new rule. “I have this funny feeling that spinners will not have a role to play in the future.” Under the new rule there will be two set of powerplay overs and the first 10 will allow only two fielders in the outfield. The five-over batting powerplay allows three fielders in the outfield and only four fielders are allowed for the remaining overs. The new rule came into effect in the ongoing ODI series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Another new rule is the use of new balls at either end, which hinders spinners' grip to extract turn. Jayawardene said limited-overs cricket is becoming too generous for batsmen, citing the rule of a free hit after a bowler bowls a no-ball. Sri Lanka has historically relied on spin bowling to win matches. England gets Broad scare Stuart Broad joined fast bowler Steven Finn on England's injured list ahead of the Test series in India as the three-day tour match against Mumbai ‘A' ended in a draw Monday. Vice-captain Broad bruised his left heel and team doctors were monitoring his progress just 10 days before the first Test of the four-match series starts in Ahmedabad on Nov. 15. England grabbed eight wickets for 76 to dismiss Mumbai ‘A' for 286 after the home team was cruising at 210-2 Sunday afternoon in reply to England's 345-9 declared. Hiken Shah, who was on 84 overnight, missed a century when he was caught behind off seamer Graham Onions for 92. England, which led by 59 runs on the first innings, was 149-2 in its second knock when the match was called off. Nick Compton, grandson of former England batsman Denis Compton, scored a dour 64 not out off 162 balls to become the frontrunner for the opener's slot in the first Test alongside skipper Alastair Cook. Watson ruled out All-rounder Shane Watson has been ruled out of the first Test against South Africa with a calf strain in a huge blow for Australia's hopes of upsetting the top-ranked visitors. Vice captain Watson injured his left calf playing for New South Wales against Queensland Saturday and had been a doubt for the Test which begins Friday at the Gabba in Brisbane. Left-handed batsman Quiney, named as cover for Watson on Sunday, would slot into the side at number three, Arthur said. ‘WI faces tough return to top' West Indies has a long way to go if it is to return to the top of world cricket, despite its recent success in the World Twenty20, manager Richie Richardson said Monday. Richardson insisted the West Indies was still a work in progress on arriving in Dhaka to play two Tests and five ODIs against Bangladesh. “We've been seeing improvement in all areas of our game in last 12 months or so,” he told reporters ahead of their first series since beating Sri Lanka in last month's Twenty20 final. “We are continuing to work hard, not going to take anything for granted,” added the former West Indies captain. “We see a long way to go in order to bring West Indies cricket back to the top. We all know, the world knows, we are capable of being the World Champions again. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to get back to the top.”— Agencies
