I find the misconception is everywhere. The misconception is that, most believe that it was the Lankan southpaw Sanath Jayasuriya who started the ‘going over the top’ while the fielding restrictions were on in 1996 WC. So if you are from the club which believes Sanath is the one you are wrong, it is a beefy looking Kiwi named Mark Greatbatch. During the 1992 WC, he adopted a very alien policy to go over the top and bamboozle oppositions in the process. To some extent, he was very successful.
For the first time the world got to witness this aggressive brand of cricket. It was pretty devastating for the other teams. Well, let me make it clear that I am writing this article to prove one notion wrong. Usually people consider NZ to be boring, when it comes to cricket. That is such a wrong statement. They are the ones who brought creativity and new ploys to the game of cricket. During the 1992 World Cup he was left out of New Zealand's opening two matches, but thereafter was instrumental in their success and ended with 313 runs at 44.71.
Soon other teams were forced to adopt this policy in the upcoming WC’s, to remain in upbeat with modern day cricket. Some teams failed miserably in trying to adopt this approach, others like SL and Australia did it with ease.
The 2015 edition was nothing different, we saw ultra-aggressive cricket, cricket of a different nature altogether. They were fearless, and were extra aggressive from start to finish. Earlier, it used to be the first 15 overs, now NZ is doing it for the entire quota of 50 over’s. This entire WC we have seen some breathtaking cricket by the Black Caps. Brendon was the marauder-in-chief, he set the tone for others to follow. The approach was surprising to say the least. Brendon was attacking from ball one, throwing caution to the wind as if there is no
{{/usCountry}}The 2015 edition was nothing different, we saw ultra-aggressive cricket, cricket of a different nature altogether. They were fearless, and were extra aggressive from start to finish. Earlier, it used to be the first 15 overs, now NZ is doing it for the entire quota of 50 over’s. This entire WC we have seen some breathtaking cricket by the Black Caps. Brendon was the marauder-in-chief, he set the tone for others to follow. The approach was surprising to say the least. Brendon was attacking from ball one, throwing caution to the wind as if there is no
{{/usCountry}}tomorrow. Brash and brutal as he is, it seemed that it rubbed-off with the others, never taking the lid off the hook. He displayed a 360 degree game, and the run-rate throughout the tournament floated from between 8-10 runs/over.
Seems like this is going to be the trend from now on in! You may say the approach holds a big risk factor to it; one might get bundled out for a low score.
Hailing from the old school of thought, I would end with one question. Do we actually want to see the death of bowlers and only watch the ball sail into the crowd. Whatever it may be, it has to be said with authority, that it is NZ, the team that has changed cricket all over again. But still my heart will be in a state of dilemma of this brand of cricket.