Two recent comments on The Roar gave me ideas for articles.
The one on whether this current Australian batting line up is our weakest ever will have to wait for another time, although I humbly submit any number of post-Greg Chappell teams from the mid 1980s, or any team that named Rob Quiney.
The other issue recently was the revelation that NSW have picked their next Sheffield Shield young gun after a club season averaging just over 18. And that WA have at number six this week a player who has never faced more than 120 balls in his entire career.
But I’m sure they are excitement machines while they are at the crease.
Is that what we value now? My own experience with my son at (much) lower levels suggests so.
School cricket is 20 overs, raising in senior years all the way to 30! Retirement after 30 balls is common.
Bowlers get four overs and never more than three in a row. Club cricket is a mixture of 25 and 50 over games.
My son’s team, taken from school cricket has never batted out their 50 overs, and they are good players.
In his early years my boy was a limited player, but he could stick.
He would regularly bat out his 30 balls, scoring 10-15 and topped out in a 50 over game at 29 from 75 balls, remembering that his talented teammates merrily belted their way to all out within 35 overs.
After being regularly told he bats too slow and needs to play his shots, over the past twelve months my son has turned himself into an opening bat who hits 24 from 14 balls and walks off. Guess what? He is getting praise and is happier for it.
So I guess this is the future. Innings like Usman Khawaja last week are all the more surprising, when for most modern players nothing they have experienced in their entire careers will prepared themselves to bat for six hours.
Australia’s Usman Khawaja (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
But Funnily enough, Pakistan’s inability to put Australia away may become more common, because nothing in a modern bowler’s career of managing workload, bowling a specific number of balls in the nets and producing a day’s work of 24 different types of slower ball in a T20, prepares them for coming in for their 25th over with a beat up old ball against a player determined not to raise the roof with another DLF Maximum.
So will we see shorter matches as players walk off after 50 balls because that’s when they always retire, or will we see the balance maintained, as tired bowlers can’t get out tired batsmen?
More likely we will see a combination of the two. India have now played three Tests in a row that didn’t reach the fourth day.
Whereas once a team makes the fifth day with no chance of winning, bowlers are more regularly flummoxed by the prospect of removing a batsman who doesn’t want to get himself out.
Welcome to the new world. And here’s to 24 from 14 balls at club cricket this Saturday.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Thanks Andre
Andre Leslie
Roar Guru
Absolutely.. the draw in the first Test between Pakistan and Australia was thrilling. Shows that this type of result can still 'entertain'
Andre Leslie
Roar Guru
I think this is part of the wider confusion of what cricket should be going forward. Nice article.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Brainstrust, that's a very interesting observation that I've not considered before. Older brothers being the batsman and the younger the bowler due to the backyard tests.. Seems to be a pattern.. Marsh, Lee, Archer, Trumble, and on and that's just Australia. Flowers, Richardson... interesting
Captain Obvious
Roar Rookie
Emerging Blues have also lost the plot. They demand kids play shots all the time, they are told NOT to play defensively so this is the future for our Test teams - players who are very aggressive but will not be able to adapt when the conditions do not suit. As for Green Shield, it's a glorified A grade competition these days, the standard has plummeted over the past 5 or so years. It's a crying shame.
Carlin
Roar Rookie
Similar thing is happening in New Zealand. They have introduced age specific rule changes which include shorter pitches, 9 players and smaller boundaries. I agree with shorter pitches with young kids as they struggle with ball control. Cricket is a hard sport to balance between being progressive to make the game more appealing and keeping its traditions in this modern age.
JoM
Roar Rookie
Totally agree with your comments about the new rules. When our older son started in what used to be Emerging Blues at Under 13 level they changed the games to T20 and the 4 teams played 2 a day against each other. Prior to that they had all been 50 overs but the powers that be thought it had become boring because the top order batsmen were playing for their spots in the team and not playing the game (their words), so they changed it. That lasted for 2 years and then to what was almost a revolt they changed it again to play a 2 day game, some one day and some T20 and everyone was happy. There were some really good opening batsmen who were more suited to the longer games but were being made to hit out from ball 1 and most of those kids walked away before Under 15 level of EBs. Then you have Green Shield (in NSW) where the grade clubs put a team in for Under 16 level. 60 overs each and the kids love it. I guess the standard will drop when you have kids that haven't been batting or bowling the overs.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
As soon as we stopped batting long against swing and spin we were done. Taking our eye off the shield and the cricket academy from a batsmen point of view didn't help either. We aren't Pakistan we have a comp in the Shield that develops batsmen we don't need to fast track them in their early 20s while they are working on their game. Bowlers just came from the wilds like Thommo, Pidge, Warnie (didn't have the discipline for the academy).
Bakkies
Roar Guru
The WSC exodus hit side in the 70s along with the mid 80s would come close.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
Said years ago that the BBL really stands for the Base Ball League. Innings like Herschelle Gibbs at the Wanderers chasing 438 were supposed to be a rarity now they are becoming the norm.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
The former coach had a similar batting stance to Chanderpaul. In regards to the article I agree I never was coached properly how to bat it was just coaches observing twenty plus lads in the nets and as for bowling you had to work it out yourself with those plastic compound balls.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Don’t watch 20/20. Never will Still will watch test cricket, but it’s becoming obvious that batsmen don’t have the solid technique of yesteryear apart from a few exceptions. Unfortunately cricket and sports are a reflection of society at the moment, where it’s all about buzz and hot takes . Most of the kids watching will never see a great cricketer , but social media will tell them different. Thanks for the article.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Thats the contradiction in cricket in order for one person to spend enough time in the middle to become a great batsman , a whole lot of other people have to sit and watch in the sheds and be denied batting while they do that. Usually batsman are the older kids and they get their younger brothers to do the bowling, and then because of the age difference they bat for a long time, then when the younger brother gets a go they get them out quick. Thats why Trevor Chappel was not as good as Ian and Greg but a great fieldsman. Its a ruthless system but effective.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Fair call. As I sit here at work today I am distracted by web pages, my mobile, my phone, my coffee, etc, etc
Damo
Guest
I think you mean 'is this society now?' The ability for many individuals to keep their focus on one singular tasks for more then 15mins at a time in normal life, let along a professional sport may be a telling factor.
Steve Franklin
Roar Rookie
I've been saying it ever since they bought the stupid 20/20 game into existence,we as a test cricket nation are well and truly finished,every ball has to be 4 or 6 now in tests and we haven't anyone good enough to be able to do that.So at the bottom of the cricketing heap we go and will be there for a very long time to come.If the Indians want to play more 20/20 than tests let them play with themselves they are good at playing with themselves,which leads me to the question who is running cricket the world cricket organisation or the Indians who seem to get their way all the time.And when are the selectors going to get rid of those terrible Marsh brothers.
Matt H
Roar Guru
What we wouldn't give for a Chanderpaul right now. But that fact is, they would never get through the junior rep system the way it is at the moment. If you can;t clear the front leg you are considered too limited.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Thanks Chris, I remember reading Ricky Ponting's autobiography where he basically batted all the time and if no one was good enough to get him out, he just kept going. No chance of that happening these days.
Matt H
Roar Guru
After yesterday's performance, an article on the weakest Top 6 ever might have more relevant after all ...
Chris Meister
Roar Guru
Nail. Hit. On. Head. This is what CA are sewing with the changes to junior cricket and they will reap it. Now we are having split innings 2-day games being forced on us. Kids will never bat or bowl/field for more than 20 overs at a time. We are headed towards T20 being cricket where are asked to follow contrived "franchises" that play for a few weeks every year. Its not cricket is a hybrid game of baseball and cricket. I love both and would rather watch cricket or baseball. The game is dying and the ICC/CA don't seem to care.