Bernard asked:

Does it really matter that much on which side of the table you lag? Would it justify additional time needed to toss a coin?

This is exactly my point: You wonder if a preference for one side of the table justifies the extra time it would take for a coin toss—which would be a matter of seconds—but lagging for the break fifteen times in an evening is (by your own admission) going to add close to half an hour to a league night. And we all know that some matches already finish past midnight.
I'm not against change, but I think lagging for the break is a terrible idea for our league. It will add too much time, cause too many arguments, and is potentially less fair than tossing a coin. Not to mention that it gives the better players yet another advantage.
Also, which side of the table you lag on is a big issue for the...ahem... "more competitive" players in our league. As is hitting the ball after your opponent. It's clearly an advantage to see how quickly the opponent's ball is travelling and play your lag shot based on that information. The fact that the lag is also a fairly slow shot allows you to do this (I gave it a go last night). So what happens when both players want to employ this strategy? A drawn out affair to see who cracks first? Stalemate? Either way, it's going to add yet more time.
Another point: I'm probably one of the better players in the league, but I still put unintentional side on the ball when lagging. How will the less adept players in the league fare? I'm guessing they'll often hit a side cushion or stray over the centre string, and so I'd guess they'll seldom break.
There are other issues, too. When the lag is too close to call, players will have to lag again. This means more wasted time. Also, many in the league will not know what lagging is, so more time will be spent educating them. Finally, the BCA rule Bernard posted suggests the referee places the balls for lagging. In my opinion, this is also bound to cause arguments. Don't forget, readers, you may not be a stickler for the rules, but there are plenty in our league who are!
There are doubtless many other reasons why this rule is not suited to our league. I repeat, I'm not against change, but I don't see the point in "fixing" something that isn't broken—especially when it has the potential of adding time to an already long night.

Absolutely agree with John re time, and also because better players and home teams need, if anything, more handicap, not more advantage.We should be trying to support the lower teams to encourage them to stay in the league and gradually grow and improve. Losing by 12+ points a week is not many people's idea of fun and lagging makes this more likely.I would further point out that tossing a coin is as fair as it is scientifically possible to be.

"I would further point out that tossing a coin is as fair as it is scientifically possible to be:"


No, please try to respect the meaning of some words, one toss is by definition totally random and described by Bernouilli (Bernouilli Process) and in our case it will be a Bernoulli experiment leading to a Binomial distribution if repeated. This guy spent some times on it.


Nevertheless, You need to push forward your argument, proposing that the lowest ranking player should break. We will gain time and will give a plus to the lowest ranking player.
All this is true if someone can prove me that it's an advantage to break. Maybe we should start to make some statistics on it, it should actually be fun to add this on the webpage.

I'd be happy to consider other's proposals for helping the lower teams.I suggested to Bernard last year that there be two clear and separate divisions so newer and lower teams have an easier and more enjoyable first season before winning promotion. He told me that it had been proposed before and was voted down so I didn't take it any further.Most people consider it an advantage to break, that's why they break when they win the toss. It's certainly a disadvantage to have a really good player break against you because it allows them to dominate, even if they don't break and run.

Regarding Arnaud's point:I think it would be cool to keep track of which player broke on the website. We can find out if it's an advantage or not at the IPL level. Also, while thinking of things to add to the website, it would be nice for it to show if the team played regular or scotch doubles.

Lagging sounds fun but I agree it would complicate things and give an advantage to better players. The Coin flip is the way to go.