seven batsmen irony...

shared by straight point on Friday, January 21, 2011

during the wonderful debate on my last post - first thoughts on team india world cup squad selection - and even elsewhere one point that stands out is that almost everybody considers it given that only way to go out in this world cup or even in general is... pick seven batsmen... that, naturally, i find bit baffling...

the first thing that crosses captain's mind whenever he sees tinge of grass on pitch is how to beef up the batting to cover for the exaggerated movement of ball swinging or seaming or both...

going by the same count... why not then the same captain should not trust his batsmen on patta wickets to come good and aid his bowling instead where the bowlers will be reduced to the level of just being there to make up for the numbers...?

i think not only the cricket but fans too in general are getting more and more defensive and don't demand positive or attacking cricket from their respective teams...

so next time when you see a captain deploying a fielder at the rope after just one hit to the fence... think again before calling him a defensive captain...

12 comments:

Golandaaz said...

I can try and defend the 7 batsmen strategy.... :-)

The number of wickets bowlers need to take in a game if finite. Its not like you can take more than 20 wickets in a test match.

So beefing up the bowling line up beyond a point a pointless.

If the wicket is bowler friendly, 4 bowlers are anyway going to be more productive that usual. So why take an additional one?

On a batting friendly track your 5th bowler who is presumably the weakest of the 4 is anyway going to be the least effective. He provides little or no incremental benefit.

Batsmen on the other hand can potentially score infinite amount of runs. The more the better....

Freehit said...

In my article about India's WC squad, I have mentioned that I would like a 6-5 combination because of the flat tracks in sub-continent.

I just read the first comment by Gol and couldn't quite digest it.

I personally think, if a team is like India, who's strength is batting, then there is no sense in taking 7 batsmen.

But, since the team hasn't been using it and has stuck to 7-4 combo, which is why I drafted the team in that manner.

straight point said...

On a batting friendly track your 5th bowler who is presumably the weakest of the 4 is anyway going to be the least effective. He provides little or no incremental benefit.

over what... part timers...?

lets say if one of the four front line bowler were to have an off day... would you rely on part timer to compensate it adequately...?

straight point said...

...and on what basis you think fifth specialist bowler will be the weakest link...?

straight point said...

I just read the first comment by Gol and couldn't quite digest it.

what caused the indigestion mayank...? :)

Golandaaz said...

SP,

The case where one of the top 4 bowlers has an off day.

Well then you are in somewhat of a spot.

But when I said "incremental value", yes the difference between a part timer and your fifth best bowler usually isn't too much.

I am sure you will point out specifics which will suggest otherwise, but generally speaking

if 4 of your best bowlers can't get you 10/20 wickets then the 5th guy is also not going to fare as well

straight point said...

But gol one of fourth bowler having an off day has many possibilities... opponents will always target one of your main bowler to set you in panic mode knowing your vulnerability of already having a compulsion to fulfill 10 overs quota from part timers...

Besides...

if 4 of your best bowlers can't get you 10/20 wickets then the 5th guy is also not going to fare as well

Isn't the same can be said about 7 batsmen...? That if your six main batsmen can't do the job for you chance are 7th batsman too won't be able to more often than not?

Golandaaz said...

No SP, with batting its different, especially in tests. Technically you can score infinite runs and even in LOIs the one extra batsman gives you the option of taking more risks, maintaining a higher run-rate. It provides you a cushion.

Bowling wise there is a finite amount of work required 10 wiskets / 20 wickets

Unknown said...

I have nothing against a 5-bowler strategy. But for India to use it in the World Cup, it should have been tried out earlier. What were all those ODIs against Sri Lanka over the last 2 years scheduled for!?

Playing 5 bowlers in a World Cup having not tried such a strategy properly for over a decade would be called gambling... not strategising!

straight point said...

shri...

playing five bowlers is not a strategy in my POV... its how you feel about it as captain...

if you feel that you wanna chase 300+ in most of games or defend about 260-270 specially on subcontinent pitches...

Unknown said...

SP, team composition is a part of strategy - whether 6+5 or 7+4!

If I were to borrow the essence of your original post, you talked about aggressive captaincy in picking up 5 bowlers.

For me, aggressive captaincy is when you look for wickets. Picking 5 bowlers does not necessarily mean you are looking for wickets. I'll tell you why.

In India, there is a very marginal difference between the abilities of our 5th bowler (if we were to play one) and our best part-timers. Forget the 5th bowler, I have doubts in the wicket-taking prowesses of even our 3rd and 4th bowlers!

That is why India, I believe, is more suited to the 7 - 4 combination. Were we to find the right personnel for it, I think we can go in for 6 - 5. But now's not the time for it...

mvinodpal said...

I think u are right....
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