From the iSport Cricket Paddock: iSporter Adam Bayfield plugs in a special - this time keeping in mind the bowler's perspective.
When Twenty20 first began to seep into the popular consciousness back in the heady summer of 2003, few expected it to hang around. The majority of the English public looked on the inaugural Twenty20 Cup as little more than a novelty; a series of hectic but light-hearted thrasharounds designed to draw spectators to county grounds on long and languid summer evenings. Which is exactly what it was. Even the most optimistic of the marketing executives who cooked up the idea could scarcely have imagined that there would be such a feast of Twenty20 on display in 2010.
If anyone did stop to think about how the brash new format might develop on the field, it would have seemed relatively obvious – a perfect storm of small boundaries, unrestrained strokeplay and no-ball free hits added up to a bowler’s worst nightmare. Runs, runs, and more runs were the only dishes on the menu; Twenty20 was, to an almost absurd degree, destined to be a ‘batsman’s game’. For a while, this was indeed the case, but IPL 3.0 has provided further evidence of a phenomenon that has been intensifying for some time. The bowlers are fighting back.
Modern bowlers have enough injury concerns without having to worry about picking up a neck strain from watching their best efforts disappear repeatedly into the stands, so rather than sit idly by and allow their discipline to be devalued, they have conjured up innovative new techniques to help level the playing field. Spinners have acquired numerous variations, while the slow bouncer and intentional full toss have been added to the paceman’s arsenal – executed skilfully, these are virtually impossible to score boundaries off, and they have all been on display at the IPL.
Viewers at this year’s tournament have already been treated to almost as many batting fireworks as the actual ones that soar into the sky so predictably at the end of every game, but, after a week of action, it is the canny bowling performances that stand out most.
Dirk Nannes’ 2-12 to put the clappers on Kings XI Punjab; Angelo Mathews’ four wickets that destroyed Royal Challengers Bangalore; Lakshmipathy Balaji’s 2-9 to derail the Knight Riders – these have been amongst the most important contributions so far. Yusuf Pathan’s brutal onslaught understandably attracted the plaudits, but it was Lasith Malinga’s unflappable spell of 2-22 that ultimately determined the fate of that game. Economy, meanwhile, is the new wickets – less illustrious spells than the aforementioned, like Kieron Pollard’s 1-24 against the Daredevils, have been just as integral to victories.
These performances reflect the fact that bowlers are now the game-changers. The eventual champions will, in all probability, be the side with the most effective bowling unit. Every franchise has a big hitter or three, that’s practically a pre-requisite, but not every side has a Nannes or a Malinga (and it is thus perhaps no surprise that Delhi and Mumbai are rapidly emerging as the favourites).
Against weak attacks, no target is unreachable, so bowling potency is imperative. Just one successful over can be sufficient to disrupt a batting side’s momentum and turn the tide in your favour. Consequently, world-class bowlers are now a more valuable commodity than world-class batsmen. For all the fear that the Daredevils’ brutal top order justifiably inspires, Nannes is their ace in the hole – for the first three games they were happy to leave David Warner languishing on the bench to accomodate his compatriot, possibly the world’s finest T20 bowler.
This continues the trend that was vividly demonstrated at last year’s World T20. It was no coincidence that the two finalists, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, were in possession of the two strongest bowling attacks; the latter boasted the four M’s of Murali, Mendis, Malinga and Mathews, while the eventual champions laid claim to Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Aamer. The effectiveness of these bowlers alone goes some way towards explaining the comparative paucity of 200+ scores, and the lack of even a single centurion. The overall run rate, meanwhile, fell to almost half a run below what it was in the 2007 edition, while, most strikingly, nearly 100 fewer sixes were hit (166 against 265).
Clearly, then, the bowlers are returning to centre stage. T20 is no longer simply a batsman’s game. Big innings and big totals will doubtless still happen, just less frequently. Not everyone is thrilled about this. As well as the batsmen, who were getting complacently accustomed to being able to indulge themselves at will, the moneymen are probably equally unsettled. If it stops raining sixes, or at least if the deluge turns into more of a light drizzle, they fear that spectators will lose interest.
While there is probably a grain of truth in that assumption, it is ultimately misguided. The contest between bat and ball is the cornerstone upon which the sport was founded, and the basis for its appeal. Initially, T20 tipped the scales too far in one direction, and after a while that ran the risk of becoming dull. The rebalancing of the contest must, surely, be a good thing.
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