Commentators refer to it on the regular and coaches love extolling the knowledge supposedly held within its pages, but has the metaphorical batting textbook become a bit dated?
Every youngster who grows up learning to swing the willow is told the same thing – head down, straight bat and play each ball on its merits.
However, with the advent of Twenty20 cricket and the rise of the unconventional batsman, as typified recently by MS Dhoni and recently appointed Aussie captain Steve Smith, has orthodox batting become overrated?
How about I give you an answer befitting of the textbook analogy? That of every teacher who has ever expounded wisdom upon a group of youngsters worth their weight in salt, yes and no.
As everyone who knows the slightest thing about cricket will tell you it is each to his own when it comes to wielding the willow. There is no correct way to bat, however there is an orthodox way to preserve your wicket – that is to minimise risk through playing technically astute shots through areas unprotected by the opposition as well as blocking balls which threaten to bring about the death rattle.
However, you try telling that to players such as David Warner and Aaron Finch, the first of a new breed of batsman who score quickly through their own brand of counter-attacking cricket, putting the pressure well and truly back on the bowlers. Their unique batsmanship cannot be taught through any book, and has emerged thanks largely to the rise and rise of T20 cricket as a widely played form of the game.
Batsmen now have a need to score fast from the get go and must come up with new scoring areas to combat good bowling in the significantly shortened form of the game, hence the creation of outlandish shots such as the ramp shot and the reverse paddle sweep as championed by the true innovators of the batting world.
Nevertheless, as far as batting in the five-day game is concerned there will always be a place for batsmen with an old-fashioned technique whose preservation of their wicket comes first. However, a look at the Australian line-up in the second Test at the Gabba and the performances of their top and middle order yield the observation that those with unorthodox techniques are actually prospering at Test level much more than their orthodox counterparts.
For example, the best specimen of a by-the-book batsman would be Shaun Marsh. His batting style is more textbook than almost any other player plying their trade at international level, and the West Australian registered scores of 32 and 17. Whereas the unorthodox Steve Smith scored 133 and 28 in the first and second innings respectively, albeit it must be considered he is certainly in a rare purple patch.
The question then beckons, is there no longer a spot for the old-fashioned batting textbook? Or can the old-style technique be coupled with modern day innovation to create the perfect batsman?
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