Some thoughts that have been lingering in my mind for a long time and im going to risk sharing them with you guys. I know these ideas probably arent the best otherwise they would have already been employed. So its up to you guys to tell me faults in these ideas. Rotten tomatoes are welcome too
**1. Eleven can bat
**I have always envisioned a team with 11 specialist batsmen. 1 of them is a wk and 5 of them specialist bowlers. Yes. Five men who are specialist batsmen and specialist bowlers. Not just 50-50 allrounders... more like 100-100 allrounders. I'm thinking Kumar Sangakkara and Umar Gul packed in one (for example's sake). What kind of hurdles would one have to cross to find such individuals? And once found, what sort of grooming and training would they require. How about making it a 'requirement' for entry to the team that all specialist bowlers should be able to bat like specialist batsmen.
The reason im saying this is when youre chasing a score of 300+ and are 7 wickets down for 150 around the 30th over, you cant really expect the tailenders to put on 150 runs in 20 overs. However if there were even two specialist batsmen on #9 and 10, everyone’s hopes would be very high and THUS the predictablity of the game would be almost eliminated since any outcome will be possible till the very death overs.
**2. Tail ender by Day, Slogger by Night
**Okay so if my above suggestion is a bit too much to ask, how about this one. When tail enders bat in the 2nd innings chasing a score, theyre usually pretty useless unless they are providing support to a specialist batsman who has managed to survive that long. So in order to put their wicket to use, why not send them up the order and give them full slogging rights. Heres what i mean:
#1 Specialist opener batsman
#2 Specialist opener batsman
#3 Specialist batsman
#4 Tail ender Slogger (comes in slogs till he dies thus making his wicket useful with a quick 20-25 runs off 15-20 balls.)
#5 Tail ender Slogger
#6 Tail ender Slogger
#7 Wicket Keeper Batsman
#8 Specialist Batsman
#9 Specialist Batsman (Now that the tail ender sloggers have slogged all they could, the specialist bastsmen come in and take control of the RR) 10 Specialist Batsman #11 Tail ender (to provide support to the last standing specialist batsman)
Ofcourse this is not a fixed plan, rather just an example of one of the many possible arrangements. Point being that tail enders should be able to slog without a guilty conscience even in the 2nd innings (just like the 1st innings tailenders slog in the death overs).
Tail ender Sloggers have to understand that their sole purpose up the order is to SLOG. They are not there to waste time and balls. If they lose their wicket in doing so, thats FINE because they would have lost their wickets slogging down the order anyway.
So.. what do you guys think?
Sincerely,
Captain Lota
For second suggestion, I think the whole idea of sending specialist batsmen up the order was to sustain at least one of them throughout the inning (without having to play two unspecialist(?) at one time). But, it doesn't really work that way. So #2 is considerable and should be applied according to the situation. Yeh, sigh, only if I was a coach.
Ehsan Bhai, I think that lota’s second suggestion needs some attention. I have been thinking along the same lines for a long time. However, some minor modifications need to be made with some pre-requisites also need to be justified first. First and foremost, lota jee was too aggressive by suggesting to send three tailenders in a row. This would cause a serious flaw in the team’s batting composition. You can only send one or two tailenders at the top asking them to hit hard. The fact of the matter is that Lota’ssecond suggestion would only be implemented if the team is batting second and chasing a mammoth total and there are still enough overs left with field restrictions still in place.
I guess my suggestion has already been partially implemented by Chappel and Co. in the first ODI match against Sri Lanka when Irfan Pathan was sent at Number 3. Pathan excelled really well and played a long innings but let’s just suppose that he was out after scoring a quick fire 30 runs from 18 balls. How about sending Dhoni or even Zaheer Khan (Zaheer can hit really well) next and ask him to hit hard too. Now, sending zaheer after Pathan is really something that is out of the box. It is the game of probability but there are more chances for zaheer or pathan to hit hard and survive in first 15 overs as compared to last 5 overs. On a good day, most liley, Zaheer and Pathan would be out after scoring a quick 30 to 40 runs in 20 to 30 balls and that would still give the regular batsmen enough time to come and settle in and then hit big shots in the end.
Exactly what i meant. Its like giving middle order batsmen a headstart of 70-80 runs. Thankyou for clarifying it, Mr Phoenixdesi.
Actually Pathan played a bit sensibly in that innings. What i was thinking was play even more dangerous than that almost like Afridi.. Although if they can maintain a SR of 100 for as long as they can, that was be nice too. Will give some greatly needed depth to the batting lineup.
Nobody has to adhere to the order of the batting lineup as seen in the scorecard. We often see lower end players promoted up the order in desperate situations. I think teams should make it a regular habit to send different batsmen up the order. Instead of sitting calmly and clapping, all players and coach should be constantly evaluating the situation at that point in time and decide, based on that situation, who to send next. This could be further helped by padding up 2-3 possible ‘next men in’ at the same time. This also throws an element of surprise on the fielding side as they wouldnt know what to expect next.
Although if they can maintain a SR of 100 for as long as they can, that was be nice too. Will give some greatly needed depth to the batting lineup.