Sachin Tendulkar explains those unprecedented 300+ scores in the World Cup

Wisden India

Sachin Tendulkar, playing the role of ambassador for the ICC World Cup identified two reasons behind the number of highscoring games seen in the first week of the tournament, saying the advent of Twenty20 cricket coupled with recent rule changes had led to the boom in runs.

Seven of the 12 completed matches held so far have resulted in at least one team scoring above 300, while in two others, teams crossed 250.

“We’ve been witnessing high-scoring games because of two reasons. One is because the rule has changed. There is one less fielder outside the circle. So, that makes a huge difference,” said Tendulkar speaking to the ICC. “The game opens up completely and that becomes difficult for bowlers to consistently find those areas to work because there is one less fielder which forces you to bowl different lengths and different lines.

“The second point is also the introduction of Twenty20 format, which has allowed the batters to play more risky shots, play innovative shots, and the guys regularly practice these shots in the nets. “How many times in the ’80s or ’90s did you see someone playing a reverse sweep off a fast bowler, which happens in today’s cricket?

If batsmen have to chase at eight runs an over, it’s not something beyond their reach, because in T20 you play 20 overs with asking run-rate sometimes of nine or even more than that. So it’s just the mental set-up and the belief that even if it goes to nine runs and over, we can still hit that target.”