Cricket is often said to be a batsman’s game but the bowlers at the World Cup have been doing their best to even things up despite the odds against them.
So far, this World Cup has produced four of the ten-best bowling performances in the event’s history However, crowds at one-day games, so the popular theory goes, want to gorge themselves on a never-ending diet of boundaries. Not that the players themselves always like it that way.
England captain Nasser Hussain, whose side were the victims of Australia paceman Andy Bichel’s seven for 20 — the second best return in World Cup history — during a two-wicket defeat in a low-scoring affair at Port Elizabeth on Sunday, said it was good to see the bowlers on top for a change.
”You can’t have every game the same where 300 plays 280. It was nice to have a game where the bowler was in favour.”
Pitches, including the one at Port Elizabeth which was criticised by Australia captain Ricky Ponting, have generally not been as firm as those typically found in South Africa. That in turn has, where sides have been well-matched, made strokeplay more difficult.
In day-night encounters at Cape Town and Durban, the side bowling second has been at an advantage with dew in the atmosphere aiding swing, although the quicks still have to put the ball in the right place.
England experienced both sides of the day/night coin during their group A matches. In Durban, a superb spell of left-arm swing bowling from India’s Ashish Nehra, whose six for 23 — the fifth best World Cup return of all-time — sparked an 82-run England defeat.
But in Cape Town it was England’s turn to reap the advantages of bowling second, paceman James Anderson’s four for 29 spearheading a 112 run-win against Pakistan.
”These are not 300 plus wickets — 250-260 totals are very competitive,” said India captain Sourav Ganguly after Nehra’s haul. ”There’s no doubt bowling under lights gives the bowlers an edge in day/night games. Winning the toss is very important.”
But the only luck involved in Australia paceman Glenn McGrath’s World Cup record seven for 15 against Namibia was that a truly great bowler was given a chance against one of the weakest batting orders in world cricket.
Nevertheless, there’s no doubt one-day rules favour batsmen. Bowlers must always have four fielders, plus themselves and the wicket-keeper within the fielding circle. And in the first 15 overs only two fielders are allowed outside the circle, batsmen invited to go for big shots at reduced risk of being caught.
Then, if they perform well despite these restrictions, no bowler is allowed more than 10 overs per match. Add in that, in any cricket match, batsmen receive the benefit
of the doubt and it’s easy to understand why bowlers think they deserve all the breaks they get. – Sapa-AFP