Listen up, children. Also: full swinging deliveries still work
Andy Zaltzman24-Feb-2015Getting yourself run out when you are your team’s (and planet’s) best batsman is a bad idea
There is a wise old saying, which some scholars believe dates back to Ancient Egyptian times, others credit to the early Incas, and a few consider to be the inviolable word of Zeus, dictated directly from the summit of Mount Olympus shortly after the beginning of time. And that saying is: “If you are the best batsman in the world, don’t keep running yourself out.”AB de Villiers came into this World Cup averaging 97 in overs 0 to 40 of ODIs. Thus far, he has been brilliantly caught on the boundary for 25 against Zimbabwe in the 21st over, and brilliantly run out from nearish the boundary for 30 against India, in the 23rd over. That first-40-overs average has dropped to a trifling 89. De Villiers has been so good for so long that it is not unreasonable to say that although India won by a vast margin, had the South African batting genius been very slightly faster or slightly more sensible, he would have won the game.It was de Villiers’ 17th run-out in 181 ODIs, constituting 11.7% of his 145 dismissals. His run-out in Dhaka (though not his error on that occasion) was the decisive moment in South Africa’s 2011 quarter-final defeat. Other top-six ODI batsmen during the span of his career have been run out in 7.1% of their dismissals. He, and South Africa, need to ensure that their prime asset is not tossed away like an unwanted Christmas kazoo.300 is still a good score
I have been to five matches at this World Cup so far. It has been a privilege to be at each one. I have seen some exhilarating crowds and some excellent cricket. And some not excellent cricket. But I have not seen a good game. I have seen the teams batting first score 342, 307, 267, 304 and 303; and their opponents respond with 231, 224, 162, 160 and 184, of which the first two scores were misleadingly high after a cosmetic late rally. In none of the matches did the chasing team come close even to establishing a platform from which to challenge, let alone reach a point where victory was a viable possibility. Average margin of victory: 112 runs.It is too early to draw significant conclusions from this sample of games. The clear favourites have batted first in four of the games; West Indies v Pakistan had no clear favourite, until Pakistan started fielding. Apart from Ireland’s comfortable pursuit of 305 to beat West Indies, no team chasing a reasonable score has had it easy. Zimbabwe had to battle to 286 to overcome UAE, and Sri Lanka were rocked before overhauling Afghanistan’s 232. But even with 21st-century superbats and the current fielding restrictions, 300 is a daunting target. Especially if you begin by slipping to 1 for 4. That definitely does not help.Bowling quite fast, swinging balls at the stumps is a good idea
Was Moeen Ali undone by the unsettling bouncer Tim Southee bowled to him with the first ball of the seventh over in Wellington, or did he simply miss a perfect full inswinger that bent into his off stump two balls later? Either way, if Southee had not bowled him the bouncer, the inswinger would probably have bowled Moeen out anyway. Whether the Moeen bouncer had any impact on Bell’s dismissal, which had already happened, or on the wickets of Taylor, Buttler, Woakes, Broad and Finn over an hour later, we may never know. But the point is: all seven Southee wickets were taken with full-length balls. In the immortal words of the International Society for Stating the Sporting Obvious, “High class bowling at decent pace aimed at the stumps and swinging with precision is, in general, difficult to play.”(Substat: Prior to Wellington, Southee had bowled batsmen out, on average, once every 32 overs in ODIs. Against England, he hit the stumps four times in 28 balls.)Great players always make you pay for letting them off the hook
Kumar Sangakkara could have been run out on 0, and should have been run out on 3. He then mercilessly punished Afghanistan for their errors, and put their bowlers to the sword. For one ball, which he smashed over cover. Three balls later, Hamid Hassan bowled him out. He made Afghanistan pay. But not very much. Loose change only.This tournament is too long
Narratives have been established. Weaknesses have been probed and exposed, strengths confirmed or revealed. The tournament should be accelerating towards its decisive moments. There are three weeks until the first quarter final.Hamid Hassan: needs to work on his dismount•Getty ImagesThis tournament is not long enough
England could do with another month or so to finalise their batting line-up. Pakistan could do with an extra six to eight months to sharpen up their fielding.Hamid Hassan is a better bowler than he is a gymnast
Hamid’s bowling was magnificent. His cartwheel was also magnificent. If judged as an expression of sporting joy and competitive theatricality. If judged as pure gymnastics, it would have had the judges spluttering their cocoa into their scorecards. It was considerably less than the full Nadia Comaneci. Not enough fast bowlers do cartwheels. Or wear headbands. Or have face paint on. Or bowl Sangakkara out.There is, after all, a substitute for consistency
Gary Ballance, summoned to the England top order for this World Cup, to the surprise of many, is an outstanding batsman. He can wave printouts detailing his stellar record in his brief Test career, and his striking numbers in both first-class and List-A one-day cricket, to prove it. He has done little of substance in ODIs thus far, but one would expect that to change with time. Whether that time should be during this World Cup, in this England team, is open to question.Dejettisoned back into the team ahead of the more vigorous, less accumulative striking power of Alex Hales, or the all-round usefulness of Ravi Bopara (and having been preferred in the squad to the untested potential of the likes of Jason Roy and James Vince), Ballance was chosen to provide top-order consistency. That he has provided. Arguably to a fault. He has been out for 10 in all three innings – the first batsman ever to be out for 10 three times in an ODI tournament or series. Ballance has brought unprecedented reliability to the unsettled England top order. Could Hales have offered the same? Probably not.
