Taskin exploits ICC rule change to devastate Australia

Something had to be done.

The T20 effect in One Day International cricket was clearly getting the better of the format in recent years as batting became increasingly dominant over bowling.

Scoring rates in ODIs were skyrocketing. Batters were piling up runs at an unprecedented pace, aided by the use of two new balls from either end — a rule introduced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2011 that changed ODI cricket forever, and pushed the game heavily in favour of the batters.

Fourteen years later, in 2025, the ICC tweaked the rule in an attempt to restore some balance between bat and ball. Instead of using two new balls throughout an innings in men's ODIs, teams now use two new balls only until the end of the 34th over. From the 35th over onwards, the bowling side chooses one of those balls to be used from both ends until the completion of the innings.

The change was designed to bring reverse swing back into the game.

Since the rule adjustment, Bangladesh have played more ODIs than any other international side, featuring in 17 matches. It is safe to say that they now have a better understanding than most of how to exploit the revised regulation.

On Thursday, during the second ODI of the three-match series against Australia at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed offered a perfect demonstration of what the new rule can bring to the format.

Taskin returned for his third spell armed with a relatively old ball and immediately produced a throwback to the 1990s, delivering two deadly reverse-swinging deliveries to clean up a well-set Xavier Bartlett and Adam Zampa in successive overs.

His celebrations were equally telling. After each dismissal, Taskin pointed emphatically in his follow-through to indicate the direction in which the ball had moved viciously.

The 31-year-old right-arm pacer later explained the thought process behind those deliveries while highlighting the impact of the ICC's revised playing conditions.

“Now, after 34 overs, the game is played with one ball. So if the ball is maintained properly, you can get some reverse swing. And of course, it's not just about getting reverse swing — controlling it is the important part,” Taskin said at the post-match press conference.

“To be honest, that's probably something that has helped me from playing in the last Test series. I've bowled a lot with the old ball over a long period of time. So from that gut feeling, I have confidence in myself that I can control reverse swing with the old ball. Thanks to my teammates as well, because they've been maintaining the ball really well. If the ball isn't maintained properly, it's difficult to get it to reverse,” he explained.

And on a day when Bangladesh secured a historic series victory over Australia, Taskin's late burst of reverse swing served as a timely reminder that there is still room for fast bowlers to dictate terms in modern 50-over cricket.