Twenty20 cricket is about being able to be comfortable under pressure and to be able to execute your best ball at the best time.
It’s a basic thing you have to do – spending countless amounts of hours in the nets practising the balls you deliver best, to make sure you can execute when you are under the pump from a batsmen who’s going well down the other end.
You’ve got to like bowling under pressure.
Right before our eyes, a dramatic shift in the way Twenty20 cricket is played is occurring. Fast bowlers and spinners are back in demand.
There is no wild slogging now, as in earlier years. There is a technical side to it now. Twenty20 cricket has developed over the years and therefore a modern-day batsman needs to be technically equipped in order to prevail in the game’s shortest format.
When Twenty20 first came, batsmen slogged across the line, over the midwicket fence, and they got out by hitting cross-batted strokes over midwicket.
Now there are different methods where batsmen look to hit sixes in different areas – going inside-out over extra cover or just presenting a straight bat.
Yes, you still need to have quaint flicks and from time-to-time, you will be needed to clear the boundary, but even the likes of the Gayles and Warners are taking an over or two to get themselves ‘in’.
It might not seem much, but that’s 10 percent of the innings in game where every ball counts.
The partnership of Perth Scorchers batsmen Shaun Marsh and Herschelle Gibbs recently against the Adelaide Strikers was a fine example of this.
Gibbs came out all guns blazing and only lasted a few overs, whereas Marsh was more watchful in his approach and managed to post a respectable half century. Taking those few extra deliveries to get set enabled Marsh to post a score.
Like with all aspects of civilisation, adversity has forced bowlers to become more inventive.
Does the batsman have a high back lift or does a particular batsman play with hard hands and in front of their body?
Bowlers who can only land the ball at the base of leg stump are getting paddle-swept. Those that show their hand too early are getting reverse-swept.
If they don’t turn the ball, they are being hit through the line, if you don’t beat the batsman in the air the ball is getting smashed to all parts of the ground.
Twenty20 is forcing bowlers to acquire many variations and as a result, it is now batsmen who have a challenge on their hands.
For teams to become a force in Twenty20, they need to produce many more skilled, thinking cricketers (rather than those who only have one gear) than it does now.
It means coaching has to adapt and evolve.
This may happen or it may not, but the message is loud and clear. Twenty20 is a game that demands adaptable, thinking, athletic cricketers who know how to do more than simply bat or bowl.
It’s about being aware of what to do in specific situations and about finding solutions when under pressure – which is what good cricketers in Test cricket have always had – and continue to do.
Ryan
Guest
I think theres no doubt that T20 has evolved over the past few years; a natural progression as the authour expouses. But the difference between T20 and test matches mean there is no real basis for comparison - other than its an 11 on 11 game with a bowler, two batsmen and the most runs wins. Both have their excitement, intricacies, downfalls and quirks; but both require skill, concentration, thinking and innovation. It's unlikely that the rusted on test faithful will ever yield on their views of T20, but that's not the point. For what its worth, I never thought T20 would survive as a bash and crash, and I'm glad that its evolved to become a more mature spectical.
sheek
Roar Guru
Good try Shanebrian, but not many are going to buy this! T20 is still checkers to chess, or port to vintage wine, or pop rock to classical music, or chinese food to a sumptuous feast. There's also a another comparison I would make, but this is a family show! ;-)
Swampy
Guest
Bollocks. Being able to concentrate (ie think) for whole day batting or work on a deceptive plan across 5 or 6 overs (eg Warne/McGrath) takes far more thinking than T20. Setting a specific field and making small adjustments (like when to add/subtract a slip - see Taylor, Mark) requires forward thinking. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download it now [http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/the-roar/id327174726?mt=8].
The Barry
Roar Guru
Bowling six different variations in an over isn't really that skillful and is pretty much just blindly hoping that the batsman misreads something and gets himself out. That's why in Test cricket they talk about building pressure...
The Barry
Roar Guru
There's momentary pressure with T20 cricket but before you know it, the next game is on and everyone has forgotten about what happened last week. Ask Faf du Plessis or Nathan Lyon or Michael Clarke or Peter Siddle about pressure.
Neuen
Roar Rookie
Neil McKenzie batting with a young Quinton De Kock in the CL recently played might agree with that Biltong. But have a look at this The first over is the least productive in terms of run rate, and the last over is the most productive. This is as you'd expect, with the openers trying to get their eye in at the start of an innings. Only 33 sixes have been struck in the first over, compared to 157 in the 20th. The first over has also witnessed the fewest wickets - 123 - while the last over has the most - 294. The dot-ball percentage is also highest in the first over, which is what you'd expect with the field restrictions in place. The last five overs are the most productive. Apart from the 17th and 18th overs swapping positions, each over in this period is more productive than the previous one. The fifth over is the only one, apart from the last five, in which the average run rate is more than eight per over. The fifth over also sees unusually few wickets fall: only 127 batsmen have been dismissed in the fifth, compared to 153 in the fourth and 152 in the sixth. The fifth-over average is thus extremely high - it's easily the highest among all overs, and the only one that's 30-plus. This one is more difficult to explain - is it because the fifth over is often when the first-change bowler comes on, after two overs from the new-ball bowler? - but there was a similar trend in IPL 2012 too: only 25 wickets fell in the fifth overs - the fewest - at an average of 45.76, which was the highest in any over. (The second-highest was 39.73, in the tenth.) Apart from the first over, the lowest run rate is in the seventh, as batsmen take a breather after the frenetic activity of the Powerplay overs. In fact, the run rates are pretty low in the eighth and ninth overs as well. http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/583081.html
I would agree with you that in T20 it is a thinking game for the bowlers. For the batsmen though, nah..... Just slog. If it is your day you take the game away from the opposition.