A proposal to modify coin toss rules for bilateral cricket series

The two captains stride out for the toss. One of them flings a special edition coin into the sunlight, while the other makes his call. The coin lands, heads side up, and one of the captains quietly exults.

As simple as that, the “victor” in the pure game of luck that is the coin toss sees his team granted an upper hand before the real contest even begins.

It’s a scene we take for granted, and one that cricket players and watchers accept must play itself out before every game.

Making the “right” call on a coin toss is an act of pure luck. Even the most astute and thoughtful of cricket captains surely don’t take into account the earth’s gravitational pull, wind direction and velocity and the weight and dimensions of the coin while making their call. It’s an exercise of pure chance.

In what sport other than cricket can the simple and completely chance act of flipping a coin have a massive influence on the outcome of a game and a team’s fortunes?

I contend that the act of tossing a coin before every single match is a relic of the past and something that needs to be reassessed in an age where the stakes attached to games and series are higher than they ever have been in history.

While the cricketing authorities prod and manipulate the rulebook like a child playing with toy bricks – with field restrictions, technology and review systems the most common targets – they have completely overlooked the glaring presence of a rule that should be consigned to antiquity rather than influence modern cricket as it continues to do.

I’m not going to go over how the coin toss influences the outcome of games and series, since all cricket-watchers are aware of the glaringly obvious. I’m also not going to suggest that the coin toss be discarded altogether (at the end of the day, we do need some way to decide who bats or fields first).

Rather, I believe it is time for cricket’s coin toss tradition to evolve, so that the influence of luck or chance on the outcome of matches be mitigated, if not completely erased (which would be impossible).

Proposal

The rules should be rewritten such that the advantages gained by winning a coin toss be distributed among the two teams as evenly as possible. This could be achieved by making the following simple modifications:

1. In bilateral series consisting of an even-numbered number of matches, pre-match coin tosses should only be conducted until one of the teams wins the toss for 50% of the matches in the series. At this point, the remaining “tosses” can be scrapped and the opposition captain be given the freedom to decide to bat or field first for the remaining games.
2. For series comprising an odd-numbered number of matches, the pre-match coin toss should be discontinued after one captain wins more than 50% of the tosses. The “tosses” for the remaining matches should then be scrapped, and the opposition captain be given the freedom to decide to bat or field first for the remaining games.

Let’s examine this proposal through some hypothetical scenarios.

Scenario 1 – A 4-match ODI series between India and Sri Lanka – MS Dhoni wins the tosses for the first and second ODI. At this point, Angelo Mathews will automatically be allowed to decide to bat or field first for the third and fourth ODIs.

Scenario 1a – If Dhoni wins the first toss, Mathews the second and Dhoni the third, Mathews will be allowed to decide or bat or field first for the final ODI, as MS Dhoni has already won 50% of all available tosses going into the final ODI.

Scenario 2 – A 5-match Ashes test series. Michael Clarke wins the first three tosses. At this point, he has won >50% of available tosses. At this point, Alastair Cook “wins” the tosses for the remaining two games.

Scenario 2a – Let’s say Clarke wins the 1^st toss, Cook the 2^nd, Clarke the 3^rd and Cook the 4^th – at this point it’s 50-50 so far and fair game for a series with an odd number of matches. Therefore, the toss goes on as usual for the 5^th and deciding test match.

Discussion

One obvious highlight of this proposed change is that the coin toss has not been completely done away with. This is a good thing, because we must accept that luck will always play some part in deciding the outcome of professional sporting encounters, and this adds an exciting element of unpredictability that is good for the game.

Picture a situation where Team A wins the first three tosses of a 5-match series, but weren’t able to take much advantage of the tosses because the pitches were flat and lifeless. Now imagine that the pitches for the final two games are marble-hard green tops or subcontinental dustbowls.

In such a situation, Team B may only “win” two tosses but this has actually worked in its favour, since it commands the batting/fielding decision for the matches where the decision can actually make a difference.

The influence of luck and unpredictability is retained, but the overall influence of the luck-based coin toss on the outcome is reduced, and therein lies the key.

The proposal outlined above retains the excitement of the coin toss and the influence it can have on the flow of a game, while also respecting the fact that cricket – particularly test cricket – is extremely physically and mentally demanding for the players, and their efforts should have a bigger impact on the result than the toss of a coin that takes place before the game even begins.

Note that these proposals make no mention of non-bilateral series such as tri-lateral series and multi-nation tournaments. This is obviously due to the fact that the 50% and >50% rules wouldn’t be applicable to such tournaments. Just as importantly however, bilateral series (which are more often than not pointless particularly in the limited overs arena) may represent the perfect testing grounds to assess whether evolved coin toss rules can improve the game of cricket.

It’s worth a try.