Is it time to just take the follow on out of cricket? For all of the lack of good it is, certainly at the international level, where it looks as though enforcing the follow on is a thing of the past. Teams rarely use it, wanting to retain the advantage they believe they have in bowling to the opposition last on a day five pitch, no matter what type of lead they have following the completion of the first innings of the match. Case in point is Australia in the recent series in Pakistan, when after the first innings of the 2nd Test, Australia led by 408 runs, more than 200 runs more than the point the follow on can be applied, and they refused to do so.

Obviously, there are different circumstances to each match, but given the lack of any ambition of any Test team to utilise it, could it indeed be stricken from the laws of cricket, and perhaps then open other avenues of forcing teams to find a way for victories?

That’s today’s talking point on this episode of the podcast where one person’s opinion CAN make a difference, here on Thoughts from the Metal Cavern.