Proper Test Cricket... conventional swing... but batsmen struggling. - World A-Team Cricket Forum

Rachael · #1 (**permalink**) 22-07-2007, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brearley

The cricket has had an attractive combativeness and balance between bat and ball; it has been proper Test cricket.

I've singled out a quote from Brearley here... but in truth, all commentators seem agreed that with the exception of some of the early-innings spells from India's seamers on the first morning... the cricket has generally been excellent - basically because the contest between bat and ball has generally been so even.

Throughout the batting collapses, the TMS crew have been quick to note that the pitch is blameless: the pace is even, the bounce is even and the deviation off the seam has been modest. Brearley once again strikes me as summarising the situation very nicely:

Quote:

Certainly the conditions at Lord's have allowed swing (which makes a world of difference to Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom, as indeed it does for all three India seam bowlers) and there was enough pace in the pitch to encourage quick bowling. In fact, this is one of the best, most even pitches for cricket I have seen, with enough in it to reward excellent batting and bowling.

Vic Marks' column notes "The pitch remains bone dry, yet the wickets have started to fall"... and diagnoses a systematic failure of technique amongst modern batsmen:

Quote:

When the ball is swinging in the air, the tried and trusted method is to 'play late'. This requires the batsman to wait another milli-second or two to allow the ball to swing and then move feet and bat at the last moment. Lunging forward prematurely leads to a terrible tangle, with the front leg ending up in the way of the bat and a cluster of lbw appeals.

All easier said than done, of course. It also helps if the batsman has 'soft hands' so that he is not jabbing at the ball. Rather, he lets it hit the bat. This means that even an edge is unlikely to carry to the slip cordon.

A batsman needs to be relaxed and confident to steel himself to wait before moving into position when the ball is approaching at around 85 mph. In the past Geoffrey Boycott (of course) and John Edrich were masters of this art. They knew the precise whereabouts of their off stump; they did not follow the swinging ball and they were so relaxed that their edges rarely carried anyway.

Thus the swinging ball was thwarted, albeit passively. Since the retirement of Michael Atherton, modern batsmen do very little passively. It has become anathema to let the ball hit the bat. That is not for the likes Kevin Pietersen, but even the more sedate of modern players go at the ball more vigorously than their predecessors - a perilous tactic against the swinging ball.

Look at yesterday's dismissal of Andrew Strauss, who hardly qualifies as a modern thunderbat. The delivery from Zaheer Khan was no half-volley, yet Strauss was pushing hard at the ball. So it carried easily to first slip. Meanwhile, Alastair Cook moved early, perhaps anticipating an away swinger from Khan. It was the in-swinger and his front pad was where his bat should have been.

Playing the swinging delivery is a delicate art.

DomainK

Good write up there. I am afraid that the bad bowling on day one might make the difference in the end. England are in a comfortable position right now and India will have to do something extraordinary to win it from here.

Wanderer

I always thought Graeme Pollock was master playing the swinging ball too...

Interesting comments too from some of the Sky commentators during yesterday's play. Seems like swing bowlers come in "era's". And one of them made the comment that, apart from Vaas, who is REALLY is genuine swinger nowadays? (yes, that is what they said).

So, if there aren't any REAL swing bowlers, how will batsmen learn how to play swing effectively?

pie_chucker

I think the commentators seem to have forgotten about a certain Matthew Hoggard

. Over 50 tests and over 200 wickets

.

Rachael · 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pie_chucker

I think the commentators seem to have forgotten about a certain Matthew Hoggard

. Over 50 tests and over 200 wickets

.

Hoggard is a good call as he moves it one way in the air. That said, he has never mastered moving it the other way: he can offer a cutter to get it moving the other way off the pitch.... but he's hardly in the great tradition of genuine swing bowlers with the ability to move the ball hugely and move it either way!

Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus have promise in Australia. Mohammed Asif is spectacularly promising. My understanding is that all three have a bit of ability with mild outswingers... but the last time I checked they all relied on nipping the ball back off the seam as they ain't masters of swinging it 8" either way. Simon Jones had promise: he was just getting the idea of conventional swing before his injury layoff... but I've not heard much about his bowling this season.

Can Pedro Collins swing the ball in as well as away? Can Bond and the other NZ green-wicket specialists? Can Irfan Pathan? I'm sure you could come up with a long list of bowlers with SOME ability to swing the ball... but in truth, the game has, for the last few years, seen more of straight up and down guys like Harmison, Flintoff, Mahmood, Akhtar, Lee, Sami, Lee, McGrath, Pollock and Ntini.

Wanderer

Quote:

Originally Posted by pie_chucker

I think the commentators seem to have forgotten about a certain Matthew Hoggard

. Over 50 tests and over 200 wickets

.

I believe they were discussing bowlers who had the ability to swing it no matter what the conditions. Like Wasim for instance, and Vaas as mentioned.

pie_chucker

Hoggard cant bowl an orthodox inswinger but can get the ball to reverse in.

Rachael

We seem to be on bowlers... but the point of the Vic Marks article was essentially about modern batsmen: guys who look fine when the bowling is straight up and down... but who are let down by their technique the moment they face genuinely Testing bowling.

pie_chucker

Yes, there are a lot of test batsman at the moment who arent that great against the moving ball but all of the top batsman cope OK.

The main requirements for a batsman to play swing / seam bowling is to play late and have positive footwork (either forward or back). Oh, and being lucky is important as well. The ability to play and miss instead of edging behind is a much underrated skill.

Milo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachael

We seem to be on bowlers... but the point of the Vic Marks article was essentially about modern batsmen: guys who look fine when the bowling is straight up and down... but who are let down by their technique the moment they face genuinely Testing bowling.

Have you finally been convinced of Kevin Pietersen's ability and application now Rachael? Even under testing conditions, he showed (once again, even as he did on debut) he was the best equipped player in England's team to succeed.

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