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When England last hosted the ICC World Cup in 1999, bowlers were still not the punching bag at the home of cricket.
In a country famous for producing seaming tracks, only two teams - India (twice) and Australia (once) - produced 300 plus scores in that tournament.
In fact, the epic semifinal that ended in a tie between Australia and South Africa produced just 426 runs in 99 overs as the bowlers kept the batsmen on a tight leash.
Those were the days when you rarely saw 300 plus scores outside the sub-continent.
But the tsunami of T20s in the first decade of this century changed the game so much that even the pitches in England, South Africa and Australia changed their colour.
It has come to a point where teams chase down 350 plus scores in 40 overs! Now as the World Cup returns to the home of cricket, everyone is expecting to see fireworks from batsmen on featherbeds.
Big-hitters like Jos Buttler, Hardik Pandya, Ben Stokes, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell could be unstoppable in such conditions.
England all-rounder Mark Wood even predicted that teams could soon hit the 500-mark in the 50-over game. And, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have already redesigned scorecards for World Cup fans to accommodate 500-plus runs.
Former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas (right)
But Zaheer Abbas, whose free-flowing batting earned him a strike rate of 84 in the 1970s and early 1980s when most top batsmen struggled in one-dayers, says they are killing the game by giving batsmen so much freedom.
"When I played, England used to have 'grassy' wickets where the ball would swing so much. But now see the pitches where England and Pakistan have scored very big in all the matches," Abbas told Khaleej Times, referring to the recent England-Pakistan series.
"It's unfair on the bowlers. And the bats are so thick that sometimes even mis-hits clear the ropes," the legendary Pakistan batsman said.
"Maybe it's good fun for the public. But what about the players, what about the fast bowlers? So they have to keep the balance."
But the former Pakistan captain believes getting 500 will still be difficult for teams.
"I think it's not going to be easy to get 500," he said.
"In my time, it was very difficult for a batsman to score even 50 on those grassy wickets. But now if they continue to make flat wickets, teams will definitely try to get 500!"
Former India pace bowler Salil Ankola agreed with the Asian Bradman.
Salil Ankola played 20 ODIs and one Test for India before injuries forced him to quit cricket (Photo courtesy Salil Ankola's Facebook page)
"Wickets have been very placid all over the world now. See South Africa chased down 434 way back in 2006 against Australia. That was in Johannesburg. So the trend started in 2006," Ankola told Khaleej Times.
"The way the game is changing and helping the batsmen more and more with placid tracks, shorter boundaries, we could soon see 500 plus totals," he admitted.
"It can happen, but I don't know if it will happen in this World Cup. And I don't see anyone chasing down 500!"
Ankola, who played a lot of cricket with Sachin Tendulkar, said the game would lose its charm on such flat wickets.
"And the rules are so batsmen friendly now. People just want to see fours and sixes all the time. But the contest between the bat and the ball should always be there. If it's not there, the game is going to die," he said.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com
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