We’d rather fly economy

Captains largely prefer their bowlers to prioritise run-control over wicket-taking

January 30, 2015 03:41 am | Updated November 16, 2021 01:28 pm IST

RARE BREED: The batsmen were never sure whether ‘Big Bird’Joel Garner was coming for their heads or their toes. The result: wickets by the bag and an economy rate of 3.09.

RARE BREED: The batsmen were never sure whether ‘Big Bird’Joel Garner was coming for their heads or their toes. The result: wickets by the bag and an economy rate of 3.09.

Explaining a bowler’s ideal state of mind in his book The Art of Fast Bowling, Dennis Lillee wrote: “When you have the ball in your hand, you should be so dedicated to taking wickets that you are almost at the stage of pushing the batsman over to get your man.”

Published in 1978, the legend’s thoughts were attuned to Tests then. But the idea of doing nearly anything to hoodwink batsmen holds true in these days of ODIs and Twenty20s, when taking wickets is a lesser priority than controlling the runs.

Understandably, fast bowlers have devised their unique coping mechanisms. Dot balls, and the accruing pressure that triggers wickets, serve as the holy grail.

The methods revolve around a medley of varying deliveries. The classic strategy was to fire in yorkers, and be it Joel Garner or Waqar Younis in the past or Lasith Malinga now, the toe-crusher aimed at the base of the stumps is a potent weapon. On the flip side, the margin for error is wafer-thin, as a line straying down leg or a faulty length ending up in a full-toss can whet a batsman’s appetite.

If yorkers were all about the fast and the furious, speed merchants also showed that they have a touch of quirkiness. And thus an oxymoron was born in the cricketing lexicon – the slow bouncer! The ball rises ominously, but with the pace shaved off it thanks to a deft movement of the fingers during the delivery stride, it comes much slower off the wicket. Committed to the hook or the pull, there is no time to offset that trigger movement and batsmen end up looking silly.

Malinga, fellow Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews and England's Stuart Broad, to name a few, have resorted to this modus operandi.

That seamers aren’t allergic to slowness has been reiterated across decades. Steve Waugh may be remembered for his tough persona and steely bat, but during the 1987 World Cup in India and Pakistan, he grabbed attention with his slower balls, which left rivals irritated. India’s Venkatesh Prasad was another exponent of this art that has had many purveyors over the years.

With scores now cruising past 300 and even busting the 400-mark (recently South Africa slammed 439 for two against the West Indies at Johannesburg), bowlers have to mix it up and hope for the best.

Totals that look like skyscrapers over the last decade have meant that none from the present crop figures among the top-20 of the most economical bowlers in ODI history, a chart led by Garner (3.09).

Mind you, Australia is no exception to the trend of massive scores -- the highest there is the 368 for five that Ricky Ponting’s men etched against Sri Lanka at Sydney in 2006. Co-host New Zealand is not immune to the run-glut either and India will happily testify to that, having hammered 392 for four at Christchurch in 2009.

Seen in this context, fielding captains will gladly take an economy rate of just under six, any day.

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