If you are given an option of watching 2 batsmen bat. One who is exceptionally sedate and he is scoring at 22 and the other who is extremely aggressive and is scoring at over 75, which batsman would you pay to watch? Let us assume that this is the first or the second day of a test. The answer is easy. It will be latter batsman. Now, it is day 5 and there are 2 batsmen with similar strike rate and there is an outside chance of winning but the chances of a drawn game is higher and hence it is important to play time, who would you watch? Again, the answer is easy. It will be the former batsman. It is something that will always split the cricket aficionados. Batting slowly must depend on the situation.

I know that this is a subject that will never see the light at the end of the day. This topic will go on forever as long as the game lasts.

Just before the Australian era

Back in the olden days, a score of 240 over the course of one full day’s play was considered job well done. Over rates were so poor before the beginning of the 90s. Survival was much more important than scoring quick runs. Run-rate of just over 2 was something not really frowned upon. Everyone considered it to be par for course. Sunil Gavaskar always used to say, “give the first hour to the bowler. The remaining 5 hours can be yours”. These are golden words that rang true from time immemorial.

Towards the middle of the 90s, batting started to drastically change. It was the Australians who started this trend. The Australian team lead by Steve Waugh initially and Ricky Ponting later on, changed the very nature of batting. Aggression throughout the innings became the norm. Hayden & Ponting was not only instrumental in quick scoring but they played long enough that the opposition was physically and mentally drained by the time the Australian innings ended. Their efforts were compounded later in the order by Gilchrist who literally willed the bowlers into submission.

What approach must a batsman take?

There will always be criticism of either approach depending upon the state of play. I will not go into the mindset of the aggressive batsman but I will try to put forward my two cents regarding the sedate batsman. I will analyse merits and demerits of such an approach as best as I can.

Followers of the game are often divided when it comes to what is the approach a batsman must take during the course of the innings. There is one school of thought that says that the batsman must take the attack to the bowlers and another school of thought that will want the batsman to take his time and play the waiting game. Both has its own merits and demerits. They can be productive as well as counterproductive. There isn’t one set formula for batting. It always depends on the situation.

The criticism that are levelled against slow going approach

First, this sort of batting creates lot of pressure on the batting partner. This was said by no less a personality, Ricky Ponting. He said this in the context of Pujara’s batting.

“I don’t think it was the right approach. I think he needed to be a bit more proactive with his scoring rate because I felt it was putting too much pressure on his batting partner”.

However, Pujara had the last laugh. He was instrumental in India winning the series against Australia in 2020. Yes, Pujara did not score too many runs in the series but the sheer number of deliveries that he played ensured that India draw the Sydney test and because of his long innings at Brisbane, Pant was able to attack from one end and eventually win the test and series.

Second, by not looking to score runs, the bowlers are allowed to settle down into a nice rhythm. This is certainly true. The success of batting lies in the bowler not being allowed to bowl a specific line and length. The bowler will gain confidence and he does not have to do much to run through the side.

Third, every team must have a batsman, preferably in the top 3, who will be willing to bat for a longtime without worrying about scoring. The rest will have to bat around him and must take the responsibility of scoring the bulk of the runs. There are 2 angles to this. By not scoring, the batsman allows the bowlers to settle down and thereby make life difficult for the remaining batsman. The other angle is that by playing a long innings, he actually tires the bowlers. The remaining batsmen can take advantage of this and can dominate the opposition. Bat them out of the game.

England’s series win

England won a series in South Africa in 2018 3-1. It was as comprehensive as it can get. There were several brilliant performances. Most notably from Ben Stokes. However, one of the main reason England were able to win that series was because of the batting of Burns and Sibley. These 2 batted in every innings for more than 20 overs each though run scoring wasn’t that efficient. This allowed the likes of Root, Stokes and Buttler to dominate the South African bowling who were extremely tired bowling to the openers.

Michael Vaughan said, “England is a funny team to follow because we criticise them when they play flamboyantly and there were so many on social media criticising the way that Dom Sibley was playing,”. He is absolutely right for this England team. That is exactly what England have required for a long period of time. Someone that just wants to stay in, value their wicket, bat a period of time,” he added.

Conclusion

There is no right or wrong approach to batting. It depends on the situation. If the situation calls for quick runs, the batsmen must be aggressive or restrained otherwise. The one thing the dour batsman must remember is that it is alright not to be aggressive but it is also important to score runs. In other words, a strike rate of 30-35 is alright but certainly not 15-17.

Other reads about the greatest cricketer can be read here and here.

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The Indian cricket pitches

Whenever, a side from one of England, Australia, New Zealand comes to India, the one talking point is about the pitches. There will be lot of editorials on their newspapers stating that a minefield is awaiting their teams during their visit. Every pitch in any Test series will be doctored to suit the Indian spinners or to stump the visitors because of their lack of ability against spin. However, none of them thinks about the poor technique displayed by the visitors against spin. Not the perfect one but a better technique would have ensured that they prevail. Having said that, the Indian cricket pitches will probably have to change. Defeating India in India is one of the most toughest in the cricketing world. Defeating Australia and defeating South Africa are the other tough propositions. I have not included England or New Zealand because both the teams have lost rather a few games more than that is allowed. Over the last 23 years, India have lost less than 10 Tests at home with only 2 series losses. That is an incredible record to boast about. The sheer dominance at home is something no other team could achieve. Accusation against the team Despite that, the talk invariably turns to the pitches. There were lot of accusations on the Indian team that they will not be able to win so many games if the pitches weren’t so spin friendly. A few years ago, in 2015, against South Africa, both the teams, India and South Africa were unable to cross 300 once because the pitches turned square from ball one. The Nagpur pitch for the 3rd Test was rated poor. It left Kohli fuming. “Well, there have been three scores of under 50 runs in South Africa but I haven’t seen any sort of articles on that. Teams have been bundled out under 100 for about six times in South Africa,” he said. “The situation in our country is highlighted a bit too much and that’s a fact. Because the only thing we talk about is the pitch and when we were in South Africa, the only thing we talked about was how badly we played. We are criticised for our techniques but when visitors don’t play well, it’s always the wicket.” It is true what Kohli had said. There are lot of games in Australia and South Africa that have not exceeded 3 days. Especially, in South Africa, the pitches are overly favourable to the fast bowlers. Since South Africa can churn out them by the dozen, they have always prepared pitches that has incredible pace and bounce. They have always maximised the home advantage and particularly against the Asian nations. WTC Points system is another reason Likewise, India is also justified in preparing pitches that does not suit the opposing batsmen. Here I say the opponent’s batsmen is because even the Indians are not that good against spinners any longer. Just look at the number of games the Indians were tied down by spinners in white ball cricket that has prevented them from scoring huge runs or chase down one. The situation is not that better in Tests either. Nowadays, spinning pitches are prepared not because it is comfortable for India but because it is uncomfortable for the opponents. One other factor that warrants results oriented pitches is the WTC points system. It awards 12 points for a win and only 4 for a draw. It places great importance in playing attacking aggressive brand of cricket. WTC points is a significant motivator. Teams need wins to be in contention to play the final. Where does the chances for winning most of the games lie? It is at home where you know the conditions and you know how the pitches will behave. Hence, the need to prepare pitches where you give your team the maximum chance to win. “There is a huge premium on results,” Dravid said before the fourth Test. “You draw a game like Kanpur against New Zealand, where you take nine wickets in the second innings, you draw that game and that sets you back, in a home game. “Every team is getting results at home or are putting in really good performances at home, so there is a premium on results. You get four points for a draw and you get 12 for a win, so there is a premium on that, there’s no question about it.” It is time to return The downside of all this is that the averages and the performances of the batsmen have dropped drastically and the spinners are having inflated strike rates and averages. One will only have to compare the statistics of both Ashwin and Jadeja with their away record. It will clearly establish the fact that these two spinners, ofcourse they are good, are not as great as they are made out to be. Perhaps, the time has come to return to the more batting pitches that helped the Indian batsmen outscore their opponents. The spinners will have to really use their guile and intelligence to pick up wickets rather than just drop the ball and leave the rest to the pitches. There was a period, against England in 2017, where both the teams amassed runs and yet, India won handsomely 4-0. Ashwin & Jadeja still emerged as the highest wicket takers but they had to move out of their comfort zone. The Indian fast bowlers too had long bowling sessions. This was in stark contrast to how Bumrah asked to be left out of the squad in 2020 against England because he hardly had to bowl. Wrapping up the Indian cricket pitches The problem is not the turn but the dust that comes out of the pitch everytime there is an activity. Sri Lankan pitches have also turned but the soil does not come out. India have had similar pitches and it is time to return to that. 2 and 3 day games will kill the game. Let the batsmen be able to bat confidently. For inspiration, India will only have to think about the pitches against England in 2017.

Whenever, a side from one of England, Australia, New Zealand comes to India, the one talking point is about the pitches. There will be lot of editorials on their newspapers

Read More