- For the true connoisseurs of cricket, it is always a battle of wits between the bat and the ball on the field where a level playing field exists for both. The game of cricket itself is molded in a manner that offers equal opportunities to specialist players to excel in their chosen field of expertise. Yes, they are rare species like genuine all-rounders who are blessed with the ability to excel in both the crucial departments of the game. Taking into consideration the very setup of the sport reveals that the competitive spirit will come to the fore only if competition is encouraged between the bat and the ball to ensure quality. Of course, the beauty of the game can be appreciated when the quality of performers triumphs in an exciting encounter where both bat and ball dominate.
PC: Economics Times
- However, the introduction of the shorter and the shortest variety of the game in the form of 50-over and 20-over cricket has considerably skewed the game to the advantage of the batting side. Paying spectators would not settle for anything less than fours and sixers raining torrentially. Nonetheless, it’s the bowlers who win the matches simply because twenty wickets in an innings must be captured by the side to claim victory. As you are aware, even the playing conditions are altered to ensure the batters have a better chance of dominating the bowlers, which would propel them to post a respectable target. In ensuring the same, the pitch conditions often become unidimensional where the bat dominates the ball leading to a lack of competence or quality.
- Ideally speaking, the pitch conditions should be balanced, offering both equally important protagonists an opportunity to fight it out in a competitive manner. Any true cricket-loving fans would have noticed how the batters are prevailing over bowlers in the ongoing 50-over World Cup in India with so many batters scoring centuries at such a fast clip. Centuries being scored in 40, 50, and 60 deliveries only further corroborates how the playing conditions are altered to suit the batters and render the bowlers almost inconsequential. The ease with which sixers are scored amply demonstrates how the power hitters have come to rule the roost over hapless bowlers. Even the boundary size is reduced to ensure the mishits clear the ropes with ease.
PC: TOI
- Undoubtedly, the advent of shorter formats has helped the batters to become more adventurous leading to results in the five-day Tests. Gone are the days when the dreaded draws/no results used to be the norm in the classical format. Cricket enthusiasts would have noticed how the modern-day bowlers have also lost the skills to bowl at the death by using the yorkers to contain runs as well as wicket-taking options. Except for Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Trent Boult, Shahin Shah Afridi, and Mitchell Starc who are great exponents of yorkers, none of the other pacers are trying to use this option frequently. Cricket becomes interesting when the coaches and captains make concerted efforts to make their bowlers use this option.
