Cricket
Is it a batsman’s game or does the pace battery dictate terms on the field?
They say quality spin bowling and wristy, stylish shot-making are the most artistic expressions of athleticism in cricket, or perhaps any sport in the world. But if you had to choose the most exhilarating, adrenaline-pumping sight in the game, it has to be a tearaway fast bowler running in at full speed and hurtling thunderbolts at the cowering batsmen.
But genuinely quick bowling doesn’t just make for an awe-inspiring sight; it is also the most decisive tool to get batsmen out in any form of the game. And T20 cricket is no exception to this rule.
There was a time when it was considered that taking the pace off the ball was the only way to arrest the flow of runs in the start-stop, lightning quick T20 format. The logic went that when a batsman is taking wild swings at every ball, giving him pace to feed off of will only help send the ball to the boundary that much quicker. But that theory has been blown apart by displays of high quality fast bowling that have changed several T20 games in a matter of minutes.
When we talk about some of the most successful bowlers in the T20 format, names like Lasith Malinga and Dale Steyn inevitably come up at the top of the list. Bowlers blessed with raw pace are every captain’s dream, as they are most effective at achieving the primary aim of any kind of bowling - taking wickets. And it is wickets that are best at slowing down the scoring rate, even in the shortest form of the game.
Not so long ago, a T20 World Cup encounter saw New Zealand needing seven runs in the last over with the in-form Ross Taylor still at the crease. But Steyn produced one of the greatest last overs ever seen in cricket, giving away only four runs, to win the match for his team. Such a feat would likely not have been possible if Steyn didn’t possess the rare ability to hustle the batsmen with his speed, swing and bounce.
If you look at death overs hitting in domestic T20 cricket all over the world, the delivery most difficult to get away is an accurate yorker delivered at quick pace. Greater pace on the delivery means less time for the batsman to wind up for taking a swing, and very often not enough time to bring the bat down to defend the stumps. Even as back as the 1980s in ODI cricket, Joel Garner’s fast toe-crushers were very difficult to get away because of his pace.
If we look at the history of the Indian domestic T20 league, Lasith Malinga has been the most difficult quickie to get away. His fast and accurate yorkers are dreaded by batsmen from all over the world. Malinga’s slower bouncers also fool many a batsman into looping up catches. But what makes the Sri Lankan so effective is the fact that he has the ability to consistently produce deliveries in the zone of 90mph and above. Batsmen are always kept guessing when facing Malinga.
Even at the beginning of the innings, when the batsmen are looking to take advantage of the fielding restrictions, fast bowling plays a vital role in containing the flow of runs. The swing on offer with the new ball gives the chance to pick up early wickets, and early wickets slow down the opposition, who are then forced to play catch up for the rest of the game.
If we look back at New South Wales’s triumph in the first Champions League T20 tournament in 2009, their strong and potent fast bowling attack was the key to their victory on the benign Indian tracks. Brett Lee and Doug Bollinger consistently crossed the 90mph mark and harassed batsmen with their pace and accuracy. NSW won the tournament without even being tested by any team.
All the evidence points to the same thing: genuine fast bowling can be incredibly effective in T20 cricket. But sadly for the cricket world, there are few really quick bowlers around who can consistently clock 90 mph. Still, the teams and clubs who have the luxury of such men will remain at an advantage in the fight for the biggest trophies and awards in the arena of T20 cricket, as they are in any other form of the game.
This article is courtesy www.sportskeeda.com.