Australia’s shocking collapse on the first day of the Trent Bridge Test was reflective of these times. Line-ups increasingly falter on surfaces assisting bowlers. In this case, it was seam and swing. The Hindu caught up with batting legend Sunil Gavaskar here on Friday for his views on the subject. The 66-year former opening giant was forthright with his observations.
Gavaskar said, “You need to know where your off-stump is. The guard you take is an important aspect. The guard you take is one that should be according to your height and right eye if you are a right-hander, or left eye if you are a left-hander. This plays a huge role on surfaces where there is seam movement and swing. On flat pitches, where the ball doesn’t move as much, you can get away with it, but not where there is movement.”
The maestro elaborated, “Different batsmen take different guards, but the important thing is that the right eye for a right-hander should be on the line of his off-stump when he bends down in his stance. The left eye will pick the line and length; the right eye will be the guiding line because it is on the off-stump. When the combination is at work, you know which one to play and which one to leave.”
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He added, “Today, the technique is different in that everybody stands pretty much upright. You stand down in the normal stance for the first tap of the bat and as the bowler runs in, you stand up. You lose sight of where your off-stump is.”
Gavaskar said the Aussies could have adopted the methods of India opener M. Vijay in England last year. “Vijay was outstanding. His judgment around the off-stump was virtually flawless. He left deliveries that were pitching just outside the off-stump. That is the ball most batsmen look to play at.”
The former India captain opined, “Someone you thought was technically accomplished like Cheteshwar Pujara faltered because his judgment outside the off-stump wasn’t all that great. This is why Virat Kohli had problems last year in England — his judgment around his off-stump wasn’t quite there. Again, it is the standing up. Virat stands up, which you need to do on Australian or South African pitches where the ball has extra bounce and you are able to get on top of the ball. But when he stands up in seaming, swinging conditions, there could be problems.”
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Gavaskar said the modern day batsmen often sought to hit their way out of trouble. Patience, a key element of innings building skills, was the casualty. He revealed, “I was blessed with concentration. Even today, if I am in a crowded room reading a book and there is a lot of noise around, I would be able to do so without being disturbed.”
Gavaskar said temperament, or ‘character’ as some call it, can enable batsmen overcome technical limitations. “Even in England, if the temperament is there, you gradually make the adjustments technically. Eventually, your temperament guides your technique. At the highest level, it is always the temperament that separates the men from the boys.”
He congratulated the English bowlers for bowling a much fuller length and focusing on the off-stump after the defeat in the second Test. “In England, you have to wait for the ball than reach out for it.”
Liked the look of RahulCommenting on promising Indian opener K.L. Rahul, Gavaskar said,
“I saw him score a few runs in Melbourne and liked the look of him then. All I said at that stage was he should be a little bit choosy in deciding which ball to pull. He did that to a large extent in Sydney. He seems to be a compulsive hooker and puller. Playing it against the right-armer might be easier than doing so against a left-armer who is angling the ball across your right shoulder or back shoulder. That is something he needs to keep in mind.”