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Cricket PlayersICC World Cup 2019: Bowlers have a say in promised land of runs
Four out of the top-five wicket-takers are fast bowlers. Before Thursday’s match, three batsmen have been Man of the Match, while all-rounders and fast bowlers have won that honour six times.
Eight days and 10 matches into the World Cup, there have been five totals between 300 and 350, 10 between 200 and 300 and four between 100 and 200 with only three centurions. Four out of the top-five wicket-takers are fast bowlers. Before Thursday’s match, three batsmen have been Man of the Match, while all-rounders and fast bowlers have won that honour six times. Three players have been hit on the helmet and only 13 of the 26 batsmen who have scored more than 50 runs in the tournament have managed strike rates over 100.
This wasn’t supposed to be the narrative of the World Cup. There were predictions of batsmen hitting lofty scores, bringing T20 into ODIs, and breaching the 500-run mark on flat, standardised pitches. Far from it. This has been a bowlers’ World Cup so far; and both pacers and spinners have joined the fray. (Full Coverage of ICC World Cup 2019)
The West Indies pace battery has shown glimpses of their fierce legacy, peppering the opposition with short balls that have risen sharply off the deck.
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Having snuffed out Pakistan for a paltry 105 in their first match, they reduced Australia to 79/5 on Thursday before Steve Smith and Nathan Coulter-Nile staged a rescue mission.
Swing bowling too has played a vital role—Lasith Malinga’s yorkers have smashed into wickets, Trent Boult and Matt Henry have been incisive for New Zealand. Combine these two factors and we have a World Cup where only one century-run partnership has been raised for the first-wicket—in New Zealand’s 10-wicket victory against Sri Lanka.
In the other 19 innings, the opening partnerships have crossed the 50-run mark only four times.
Openers have found it hard going against pace, but spinners too have played a vital part, stemming the flow of runs. Which explains why six spinners average less than five while bowling 10 overs or more in this World Cup. Not to mention how prolific they have been. Yuzvendra Chahal has already taken four wickets, the same as Moeen Ali, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Imran Tahir.
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The momentum was set in the second match of the tournament, when West Indies invited Pakistan to bat on a cloudy, gloomy morning in Nottingham. Mayhem followed as bouncers rained on the Pakistan batsmen, pegging them on the backfoot for almost the entire match. Andre Russell bowled only three overs before a dodgy knee forced him out. But 16 of those 18 deliveries were short and accounted for Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail. Oshane Thomas then stepped in to continue the barrage.
“It’s just not stuck on the short ball. I think all the teams so far have used the short ball, and it’s just something that’s in the game. You have got two short balls per over; you might as well use them,” West Indies captain Jason Holder said after wrapping up the Pakistan match.
Australia came into their match against West Indies after preparing specifically for the short ball.
“The follow-up from bouncers in short bowling is the key, I think, at the end of the day. If you just stick to one plan, then teams get on top of you pretty quickly or they adjust quickly enough,” Aaron Finch had said before their match against West Indies.
Yet, most of the Australian top order folded under the short-ball salvo, aimed at their helmets and ribs.
David Warner got out because he couldn’t get on top of a rising delivery. Frustrated with staying on the backfoot, Usman Khawaja departed trying to force an angled delivery through the covers. Glen Maxwell got out trying to pull a well-aimed bouncer from Sheldon Cottrell. Even Steve Smith was hit flush on his index finger trying to fend off a bouncer.
Finch had mentioned before the match how he expected the pitches to dry up as the tournament wears on, but as of now, the pitches are firm enough to produce the kind of bounce that should worry batsmen. England captain Eoin Morgan had seen this coming before their match against Pakistan. “We saw how the wicket the other day went through with more pace and exposed Pakistan, more so with the short ball. That might be a trend for the tournament,” he said.
Unfortunately for him though, England fell victim to Pakistan’s spinners; they accounted for centurion Joe Root, Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes and handed England an unlikely defeat.
South Africa too were derailed in their chase against Bangladesh after spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz dismissed the set Aiden Markram and Faf du Plessis.
South Africa’s wretched luck continued in the next match as Yuzvendra Chahal finished with four wickets. But they couldn’t have been overcome without a brilliant opening spell from Jasprit Bumrah who dismissed openers Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock. No wonder Virat Kohli believes scoring in the first 10 overs won’t be that easy. “Even on a good pitch, on a batting-friendly pitch with two new balls, I foresee the first 10 overs to be challenging if there is a cloud cover. Because we are playing in England and the ball does a bit more than any other place in the world,” said Kohli after their win against South Africa.
