Normally, anyone who has stayed long enough in England will make a dash for their sunscreen lotions and tanning trunks if the sun decides to make an extended appearance.
Not bowlers, though. Every tweet about the World Cup being witness to balmy weather is bound to evoke another spurt of dread.
A glut of 400-plus totals. Economies of six being considered a big feat. Batsmen motoring along at a rate of 8 runs per over, with one maxing out at 10.98. On top of that, no cloud cover to make the ball wobble a bit. Talk about going to a gun fight while being armed only with a water pistol.
Cricviz came up with an apt hypothetical scenario to sum up what bowlers are going to be in for from May 30.
Ask Lakshmipathy Balaji about how bowlers are going to do in England, and he starts off the answer with a resigned laugh.
“On a serious note, bowlers are going to be in for a tough time at the World Cup, especially against teams like England. There’s not going to be much of movement off the pitch, or reverse swing. And any error they make is going to be cashed upon.”
As bleak as those words from the former India pacer sound, he’s very much on the mark, even from an overall perspective. Each ODI in 2018 aggregated 240 runs in boundaries alone, with 60 off those coming from biffs beyond the rope.
In England alone since the start of 2018, each batsman has been aggregating 41.31 runs before giving his wicket away, the most (Scotland’s figure stands at 53.20, but it has seen only 2 ODIs compared to England’s 12) among all nations that played host in that time. Even in terms of runs scored per over, England sits in the lead with 6.33.
And with respect to all those dreary numbers, Balaji stresses upon the sole currency that bowlers — India or otherwise — should be looking to deal in: wickets.
“Even if you look at the ongoing Pakistan-England series, Pakistan are perhaps losing the plot just because they’re being defensive with the ball,” he explains. “Every bowler is going to go for six runs or more in an over. The only way you can keep teams from going past 350 is by getting constant breakthroughs.”
With the IPL hangover hardly having dissipated, we may think that the word “variations” will be the bowlers’ salvation. Even Balaji seems to think so, but he does slip in a caveat.
“They will definitely come into play, but bowlers have to be judicious while using them. A good example of that is (Jasprit) Bumrah, who uses his yorkers as a surprise ball now. Variations will make a difference, but being a successful bowler in England will be more about maintaining one’s temperament.
“More than your knuckle-balls, split-finger slower ones, and the rest of those tricks, it’ll be more about how bowlers use angles and change of pace to good effect. Even small things like exploiting the slope of a venue — like Lord’s — will be crucial. Only the bowlers who will adapt early to the conditions while keeping all this in mind will survive.”
England’s run-making template makes for the perfect case study for bowlers because, well, they’re the ones who have been going past the 350-run mark as if it’s a subway turnstile. From 2016 to 2018, they’ve been scoring at six or more per over, and barring 2017, they were the only team to do so in the other two years.
In 2018 alone, they smashed 135 sixes. But what makes their approach more interesting is the phase that they target for amping up their acceleration: the middle overs.
Other teams — India in particular — use those 30 overs for consolidating towards their big death-over bang. England, though, don’t go into autopilot; they floor the pedal further. That their 2018 tally of singles (2,079), twos (332) and threes (40) too was not beaten by any other side is a statistical nod to that assertion.
“Again, you don’t need to look further than their series against Pakistan,” observes Balaji. “The visitors lost the plot because they didn’t exert pressure during the middle overs, using a part-timer (Mohammad Hafeez) even with set batsmen. This is where India’s bowling department holds the upper hand. They have something that other teams’ attacks don’t: quality wrist-spin.”
The fact that wrist-spinners are a force to reckon with doesn’t really need explanation. Heck, half of the world’s top-10 ODI bowlers at the start of this year were one.
“That England and quite a few other contenders build their platform during the middle overs is a well-known fact. That’s become their approach. The advantage that India have is that there’ll be at least one world-class wrist-spinner on the ground against them, in either Kuldeep (Yadav) and (Yuzvendra) Chahal.
“What they should look at doing is using their bowling options in such a way that they utilise at least more than half of their quota in the middle overs, and have a few at their disposal in the last ten. Both have their variations in their googlies, flippers, sliders and all. But where they truly excel — Kuldeep in particular — is in changes to their trajectory and pace. Yes, there may be a few players who can read them, but they’re only a few.”
India may have the best bowling attack — yes, there’s South Africa too, but the Men in Blue aren’t just about pace — when all teams land in England. But there’s only one thing that Balaji feels is certain.
“Three hundred and fifty is the new 300 there. So, I’m definitely willing to bet that teams won’t be able to take us for 400 or more.”
Finger Snap
Spinners
Carrom ball
Australia’s Jack Iverson may be credited for this variation. Like it is known colloquially in TN, the ball is released with a sodukku: the snapping of the middle finger and the thumb like a carrom player. Spin depends upon the direction in which the middle finger snaps.
Slider
A wrist-spin variation that has become a part of cricketing jargon courtesy Shane Warne, even if Peter Philpott & Richie Benaud too have used it. This ball is delivered with the palm facing the batsman — unlike the flipper — and with the fingers rolling back over the ball, imparting both side and back spin. The delivery is low on side movement, but can hurry batsmen by staying low and skidding into them.
Arm ball
The finger-spin equivalent of the slider. Like the previous variation, this ball is released with the fingers rolling back over the ball, imparting back spin. The resultant delivery generally tends to hold its line. A few bowlers like Daniel Vettori and Derek Underwood also managed to add swing to this variation by keeping the seam upright.
Pacers
Knuckle ball
Once a product of baseball, the variation is now a regular in cricket. Delivered by scrunching up index and middle fingers so that the ball is held by the knuckles. Comes out slower than expected. A few bowlers like Andrew Tye and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also make this dip and/or swing.
Split-finger slower ball
An effective way of slowing the ball that has been around since the 90s, with Chris Harris and Gavin Larsen being big proponents of it during that era. Released with a straight seam, and gripped with a wide split between the index and middle fingers. Causes the delivery to slow down, and also dip if bowled full.
Tramline yorker
Another efficient, simple way of keeping the ball out of the hitting arc of batsmen who camp deep in the crease and stay in line with the stumps. Essentially a straight, fast, seam-up delivery aimed at the white line. Bowlers tend to take the pace off it as well, making batsmen both reach out and manufacture their own power at the same time.