The ICC Cricket World Cup is a quadrennial celebration of the One Day format – a tournament which is supposed to punish weaknesses and glorify cricketing excellence in the 50-over format. Fourteen teams representing the best of the sport have had the opportunity to display their best and worst on at least three or four occasions apiece. In a tournament spanning over one and a half months, we are now hovering near the halfway mark.
On the one hand, we are at a point where the strong are consolidating and the weak are realising the true value of talent and opportunity. Teams from the top eight in the Test and ODI ratings are steadily making their way towards the knock-out stages, barring a few aberrations like the totally bewildered England team at present.
There have been many stand-out performances – amazing displays of batting heroics from the likes of Dhawan, Kohli, De Villiers, McCullum, Amla, Warner, Gayle and many more. And some excellent stuff from my true heroes – the bowlers. But somewhere if you look at the bigger picture – the ODI as we know it is suddenly shedding its old skin and going through its chrysalis phase – and what is slowly emerging may not be the best option to ensure its longevity.
Big hitting from the first ball
The power of T20 cricket is being felt in every international ODI as the sound of heavy bats clobbering the white leather ball becomes de rigeur. There is no such thing as getting your eye in anymore as batsmen are going hammer and tongs at every stage of the 50 over innings. And amidst all the heavy hitting there is a sickening realisation that bowlers, those great and wily artists plying their trade with gusto, are now being reduced to chorus girls in a Broadway musical.
To add insult to injury, the new fielding restrictions, with a maximum of 4 fielders outside the 30 yard circle even in the death overs (between overs 39-50), are reducing options rapidly for the fielding captain. Smart batting teams wait to capitalize during these slog overs which means more often than not 300-plus scores are routinely stretched to 400-plus levels.
How good is this for cricket?
I am far from convinced that this is a good move for cricket. It is demoralising for a bowler and a captain to see every ball sailing away through vast empty spaces and it is also taking away from the hard work done in the first part of the innings. With average scores of 150-200 being clocked in these last few overs, the few bowlers who have managed to hold their own are standing out as lone sentinels in a field of destruction. Southee, Bolt, Starc, Shami, Steyn, Ashwin, Johnson and Vettori are waging such unequal battles in this lop-sided environment that one cannot but doff one’s hat in respect! But the stand-out bowling performances can be counted on the back of your hand, truthfully!
Is it really worthwhile to give so much ammunition and support to a batsman? I know the bowlers start off with two new white balls from each end but on pitches which are often flat beds there is next to nothing for them to work with. If this is the way ODIs will be played from now on, future cricketers may slowly lose interest in the art of bowling as your statistics will most certainly look rosier if you end up being a batsman! When you see a Gayle or a McCullum flay the opposition, would you really want to emulate one of the hapless bowlers with their shoulders dropping as they gamely struggle on praying for a slice of luck? And how long will people remain hooked if any 300 plus score loses it position of strength and gets routinely overhauled by the team batting second?
The exceptions
Thankfully, matches in New Zealand have been quite dramatically distinct from their trans-Tasman counterparts. With shorter boundaries and swing-conducive conditions, matches in Kiwi land are proving to be quite a handful for all teams. The nail-biter between Australia and New Zealand was one such example – and in my opinion, the defining match of the World Cup thus far. Not many runs were scored – but the bowlers from both teams played a key part in the final result and a packed crowd did get its money’s worth!
So what do the next three weeks hold in store? My feeling is that barring one or two upsets (read England!), you will see the big bulls lock horns in the quarters. But more importantly, you will see more heavy hitting as batsmen run themselves into form as the sheer power of the T20 format will keep extending its tentacles deep into the event. Matches in New Zealand will still thankfully give bowlers a chance to dictate results – and could throw up a few surprises to keep a betting man interested!
For Team India, however, all these thoughts have no meaning today. For them, it will have to be one match at a time! No place for complacency or wasteful controversy like the Kohli vs. Journalist saga. Focus on each match like it’s the last one you’ll play, keep the morale high, and play your hearts out on the cricket field.
And not to mention pray really hard – that in key matches no De Villiers or Warner or Misbah or McCullum decides to step up to the plate and take full advantage of the field restrictions. Because when they start hitting the ball out of the ground T20 style, all one can do is stand and watch – as the beautiful game metamorphoses into a harsh and unfunny version of itself.
Rathindra Basu lives, breathes, sleeps sports and is forever waiting for the next Indian sporting triumph. Since this usually takes much time and infinite patience he listens to music, reads voraciously and eats almost anything that moves!
On the one hand, we are at a point where the strong are consolidating and the weak are realising the true value of talent and opportunity. Teams from the top eight in the Test and ODI ratings are steadily making their way towards the knock-out stages, barring a few aberrations like the totally bewildered England team at present.
There have been many stand-out performances – amazing displays of batting heroics from the likes of Dhawan, Kohli, De Villiers, McCullum, Amla, Warner, Gayle and many more. And some excellent stuff from my true heroes – the bowlers. But somewhere if you look at the bigger picture – the ODI as we know it is suddenly shedding its old skin and going through its chrysalis phase – and what is slowly emerging may not be the best option to ensure its longevity.
Big hitting from the first ball
The power of T20 cricket is being felt in every international ODI as the sound of heavy bats clobbering the white leather ball becomes de rigeur. There is no such thing as getting your eye in anymore as batsmen are going hammer and tongs at every stage of the 50 over innings. And amidst all the heavy hitting there is a sickening realisation that bowlers, those great and wily artists plying their trade with gusto, are now being reduced to chorus girls in a Broadway musical.
To add insult to injury, the new fielding restrictions, with a maximum of 4 fielders outside the 30 yard circle even in the death overs (between overs 39-50), are reducing options rapidly for the fielding captain. Smart batting teams wait to capitalize during these slog overs which means more often than not 300-plus scores are routinely stretched to 400-plus levels.
How good is this for cricket?
I am far from convinced that this is a good move for cricket. It is demoralising for a bowler and a captain to see every ball sailing away through vast empty spaces and it is also taking away from the hard work done in the first part of the innings. With average scores of 150-200 being clocked in these last few overs, the few bowlers who have managed to hold their own are standing out as lone sentinels in a field of destruction. Southee, Bolt, Starc, Shami, Steyn, Ashwin, Johnson and Vettori are waging such unequal battles in this lop-sided environment that one cannot but doff one’s hat in respect! But the stand-out bowling performances can be counted on the back of your hand, truthfully!
Is it really worthwhile to give so much ammunition and support to a batsman? I know the bowlers start off with two new white balls from each end but on pitches which are often flat beds there is next to nothing for them to work with. If this is the way ODIs will be played from now on, future cricketers may slowly lose interest in the art of bowling as your statistics will most certainly look rosier if you end up being a batsman! When you see a Gayle or a McCullum flay the opposition, would you really want to emulate one of the hapless bowlers with their shoulders dropping as they gamely struggle on praying for a slice of luck? And how long will people remain hooked if any 300 plus score loses it position of strength and gets routinely overhauled by the team batting second?
The exceptions
Thankfully, matches in New Zealand have been quite dramatically distinct from their trans-Tasman counterparts. With shorter boundaries and swing-conducive conditions, matches in Kiwi land are proving to be quite a handful for all teams. The nail-biter between Australia and New Zealand was one such example – and in my opinion, the defining match of the World Cup thus far. Not many runs were scored – but the bowlers from both teams played a key part in the final result and a packed crowd did get its money’s worth!
So what do the next three weeks hold in store? My feeling is that barring one or two upsets (read England!), you will see the big bulls lock horns in the quarters. But more importantly, you will see more heavy hitting as batsmen run themselves into form as the sheer power of the T20 format will keep extending its tentacles deep into the event. Matches in New Zealand will still thankfully give bowlers a chance to dictate results – and could throw up a few surprises to keep a betting man interested!
For Team India, however, all these thoughts have no meaning today. For them, it will have to be one match at a time! No place for complacency or wasteful controversy like the Kohli vs. Journalist saga. Focus on each match like it’s the last one you’ll play, keep the morale high, and play your hearts out on the cricket field.
And not to mention pray really hard – that in key matches no De Villiers or Warner or Misbah or McCullum decides to step up to the plate and take full advantage of the field restrictions. Because when they start hitting the ball out of the ground T20 style, all one can do is stand and watch – as the beautiful game metamorphoses into a harsh and unfunny version of itself.
Rathindra Basu lives, breathes, sleeps sports and is forever waiting for the next Indian sporting triumph. Since this usually takes much time and infinite patience he listens to music, reads voraciously and eats almost anything that moves!
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