In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of Republic of Engee Woh (SCREW) has decreed that only soft balls should be used to play cricket. In addition, balls cannot be bowled faster than 100 km/hr. The judgement followed a public interest litigation filed by Fun Is Bad (FIB), a non-government organization working in making lives of citizens better. In the PIL, the NGO argued that cork balls could cause injury and in some cases death to the batsmen. The PIL also pleaded that there should be a clear 40m gap between the boundary and spectators so as to minimize the chance of innocent spectators getting injured.
During arguments, Mr. Knos Enz, the lawyer of FIB pointed to a recent judgement in India (a country in South Asia) regarding the height of human pyramids in the Dahi Handi celebrations. Knos Enz argued that Dahi Handi celebrations happen only once a year and the number of people who get injured or die nationally is much less than the number who die on a daily basis during local train travel in Mumbai (major city in India) but still the courts in India deemed it necessary to regulate the celebrations. But cricket in Engee Woh, Mr. Enz continued, is played by thousands daily in the streets and in cricket grounds and so the chances of injury and/or death are much higher. The PIL also pleaded that helmets be made compulsory even for street cricket.
The supreme court found merit in these arguments and ruled that only soft balls (not even rubber balls) will henceforth be used for playing cricket. The court also limited the bowling speed to 100 km/hr. Helmets, leg pads and gloves have also been made compulsory to the batsmen and all fielders. On the distance between the boundary and spectators, the court said that enforcing the implementation of the gap will be costly and so, instead, helmets could be made compulsory to spectators as well.
