In a historic first, PCB unveils no-toss rule to neutralise home advantage

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), for the first time in cricket history, has introduced a no-toss rule that will allow away teams to automatically decide to bowl first, thus nullifying the advantage that the home teams enjoy in cricket.

There has been a growing debate in cricket the past few years that the home teams often prepare pitches and mould the conditions up to their liking, much to the away teams’ disadvantage, and making the contest lopsided.

The PCB, in a historic first, has abolished the traditional practice of match toss for its upcoming domestic cricket season.

“This will act as a deterrent for the home sides from doctoring the pitches in their favour and compel them to prepare pitches that provide the right balance between bat and ball for four days,” the PCB announced in a press release on Monday.

The no-toss rule, being dubbed “revolutionary” by the PCB, will see away teams bowl first if they suspect that the home side has doctored pitches to their advantage. If both the teams would want to bat first, however, a match toss will still take place.

The new rule affects four-day matches only, meaning one-day and T20 matches at domestic level will continue to employ the practice of match toss. 

The International Cricket Council has also considered scrapping the toss practice in the past, and the matter has been debated in its cricket committee. The PCB, however, has taken the lead on the matter.