The Art of Smart Cricket (Introduction)

The Art of Smart Cricket

Cricket is a game of ball and bat. So typically, it involves a bowler & batsman. That’s what we generally know about cricket. However, there is more than what meets the eye. Cricket can be divided into 3 basic categories:
• Batting: Typically 2 batsmen (1 at each end of the pitch) whose job is to:
o Set a target
o Chase the opposition’s total
• Bowling: Typically group of 4-5 (or sometimes more) players whose job is to:
o Defend the total set up by its team
o Restrict the batting team to a lower total for chasing later on
• Fielding: The most important aspect of any team; this involves all 11 players of the fielding team whose job is to:
o Prevent the ball from reaching the boundary line (or preventing more runs ran by the batsmen)
o Catching the ball when it is hit in the air (within the boundary rope)
o Throwing the ball to the stumps (or the person guarding the stumps) to run-out the batsman

Every player in the playing eleven is usually assigned a particular role depending on his skills. There could be specialist batsmen who may not be able to bowl, but their job is to score as many runs as possible. There could be specialist bowlers who may not be able to bat, but their job is two-fold, restrict the runs, take as many wickets as possible. However, despite having the batting or bowling skills (or lacking them), every player is expected to be a good fielder. He may not be an exceptional fielder (benchmark set by Jonathan “Jonty” Rhodes of South Africa), but the least he can do is to restrict the ball coming in his direction and to be able to throw it at the right end of the pitch. Let us look into further details of each role.

Batting:
Typically, a batsman’s role is the simplest in the team. He has to score as many runs as possible. Things, however, are not as simple as they look. There are few things the batsman has to fight against:
• Bowler: who tries every possible trick to either restrict the flow of runs or to get the batsman out
• Fielders: who try their best to restrict the runs, or to get the batsman out (including the wicketkeeper)
• Umpire: who may commit mistake(s), thereby not allowing run(s) or declaring him out when he is not
• Pitch: at times the pitch is not favorable for batting (or atleast for the batsman’s style of play)
• Conditions: at times the conditions are such that the batsman cannot play his natural game
• Viewers: at times the batsman is not able to concentrate because of the noise created by the viewers
• Batsman at the other end: however silly it may sound, at times you have to change yourself to adapt to the style of the batsman at the other end to stitch a fruitful partnership
• Own skills: at times the batsman is not skilled enough to bat in certain situations (or against above mentioned factors); for example, some batsmen cannot play against the bouncing ball or some batsmen cannot play against the spinners as comfortably as they would against the pacers
• Need of the hour: at times the batsman needs to adjust his batting style to suit the need of the hour, for example, a batsman like Sehwag may need to curb his attacking instincts if wickets are falling at the other end and someone needs to stand and prevent the landslide

Bowling:
Typically, a bowler has two-fold role; restrict runs & take wickets. However, there are few things the bowler has to fight against:
• Batsman: who tries to score off every delivery, or blocks the ball to protect his wicket
• Fielders: when a fielder misfields the ball thereby giving away easy run(s) or drops catches, especially crucial ones
• Umpire: who may commit mistake(s), thereby not declaring the batsman out when he is out
• Pitch: not every bowler is master of any pitch condition, a spinner may not be able to make use of a green pitch or a pacer may not be able to make use of flat pitch
• Conditions: at times the conditions are not favorable for bowling, (especially bowling longer spells in too hot / humid climate or spinner not being able to grip the ball in dew or after the rain)
• Own skills: when the wickets are not falling or the runs flow is not stopping, the bowler has to employ different tactics to effect change in the match; if the bowler does not have enough variation or ability to counter the situation then the match can slip out of hands
• Need of the hour: at times need of hour is to restrict the runs (especially when wickets are not falling but the run chase is moving towards success); or at times the need of hour is to take wickets and not worry about the runs scored (especially defending large totals); the bowler has to adjust and employ his skill accordingly

Fielding:
Basically, a fielder also has a two-fold role; restrict runs and help in taking wickets (by taking catches or effecting run-outs). There are few things a fielder has to fight against:
• Batsman: while fielding, a fielder has to decide which end the ball should be thrown back so that it will help taking wicket by run-out; also he has to decide the situation of the game, like batsman approaching a milestone will be susceptible to misjudging a run or when runs are not coming easily a batsman could take risk to run and therefore higher chances of running him out
• Pitch: this applies especially to close-in fielders; the fielder has to understand the pitch, its bounce or surface so that he can field / catch the ball accordingly
• Format: a red ball (used in tests) swings much more than a white ball (used in limited overs), therefore the slip fielders and wicket keepers have to be extra cautious when playing tests while judging a catch, especially in case of new ball or in windy conditions
• Ground: the fielder has to judge the ground size, the surface and action accordingly while restricting the runs or simply fielding the ball
• Lights: in limited overs cricket when the game progresses under artificial lights, the fielder has to make relevant adjustments, especially against the windy nature of evenings or dew factor or while taking high catches with the lights (or sun) in the background)
• Conditions: a fielder also has to adjust to the climate; climate in England is generally cold for sub-continent players and extremely cold in winter, this can put limitations on the fielding abilities, especially catching; or grounds near sea have more windy conditions, therefore high catches have to be carefully taken as the ball may not directly fall in straight line, etc
• Position: fielding position also plays an important role; close-in fielders have much lesser time to react to the batsman’s shot & therefore they have to be alert at all times to judge the catch; distant fielders have to consider the change in ball’s direction after the first bounce and adjust the run accordingly; also at times fielding in a certain position for longer time could result in the fielder developing the relevant skills, but if the same fielder is put in a different position, he needs to make relevant adjustments or else he could fail in his task (a specialist slip fielder like VVS Laxman could commit mistakes when suddenly he is put in a different position)

Any team becomes successful when all the players in above roles do their respective jobs in the best possible manner. A player can move into different roles while the game is in progress. For example, a bowler becomes a fielder when he is not bowling, so he has to play that role to his best. Similarly, when the team bats, the bowler may not be a good batsman, but he is expected to hold up and try to score as many runs as possible. He is not expected to score a century or half-century, but atleast he could play a supporting role to the other batsman by not giving up his own wicket easily. Similarly, a batsman is expected to be a reliable fielder when the team is fielding. He may be a specialist batsman and his primary role maybe to score runs, but when fielding, he is expected to help in restricting the runs or take catches. He may not be a great fielder, but atleast whatever comes his way, he is expected to field it properly. By this one can safely assume that whatever role you have in the team, be it a bowler or batsman, when it comes to fielding you need to have that skill.

Cricket is played in two formats; limited overs cricket (T20 & 50-50) and longer version (5-day Test). The players playing the respective formats have to adjust their respective skills accordingly. What’s more, the two formats are played in different conditions, different type of balls, and different set of rules, different attire and more. Having the basic skills of playing the game, whichever role you are in, can help you adjust to the format. However, smart cricket goes beyond the skills. It involves understanding the rules & restrictions of the said format & using it to our own advantage.

Will elaborate on each role in upcoming blogs. (To be continued…)