Cec wrote:Unless I'm mis-interpreting your meaning here, this appears to be along the lines of what I finally suggested, ie. if both teams score the same number of runs then a result is decided on a single unique system of who scores the most runs in a "mini-play-off", either each team batting say another three overs or each player bats to face one ball - this would meet your criteria of both teams being asked to do the same thing.
Oh yeah, I forgot to address your nice suggestion last time. This "extra overs" method does make sense, and is probably more interesting than the bowl-out. However I think one over each turn is good enough, three overs might be too long. Just like in baseball, the extra contest goes one inning each time.
Australia did overhaul Sri Lanka in emphatic fashion without their captain Ricky Ponting. The bad news is the replacement, Shane Watson got injured too, which again leaves Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson as the only 4 reliable bowlers for the team. In all 3 matches we won the bulk of the runs are scored by our opening batsmen, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist (particularly Hayden). It's a bit worrying for us to see our team's success hinging on the performance of 2 guys in batting and 4 guys in bowling.
On the other side of the world, our women soccer team, the Matildas are in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in China, by holding Canada to a 2-2 draw with a goal in injury time. I watched the match, and from their performance I can't see them troubling their next opponent Brazil. They just keep kicking the ball forward without any confidence to keep possession through dribbling and short passing.