India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar believes 350 is the new par score in one-day cricket. His comments came after the first two ODIs between India and England that saw scores of 350 or more in all four innings. Quicks and spinners must be feeling like glorified bowling machines and hence this sense of resignation.
In the last two years, there have been 31 scores in excess of 350 in 237 one-dayers. That is an incredibly high number. And we are not including scores between 300 and 350. That means on a ‘normal’ wicket, any total around 300 and bowling figures of less than six runs an over are seen as very good.
But it’s not the same for everyone. Someone like Kumar might think that conceding 350 is not a big issue because he has some outstanding batsmen in his line-up who are more than capable of chasing down high scores.
It is true that India’s strong batting line-up is highly likely to make 300 or more in an ODI innings and is at par with the Australian and South African batsmen. However, there is a difference.
While India’s batting set-up is extraordinary its bowling attack doesn’t have similar firepower. In fact, on typical ODI wickets India’s bowling attack looks as vulnerable as any when it comes to conceding high scores.
If we look at stats over the last two years, England, South Africa and Australia are the only teams to have breached the 400-run mark but they themselves haven’t conceded that many runs. Similarly, while India, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies have been thrashed for more than 400 runs in ODIs over the said period, they haven’t crossed that milestone while batting.
One-day cricket has moved along at breakneck speed but that doesn’t mean good bowlers don’t have any role to play. It will always be tough to dispatch bowlers like Kagiso Rabada and Mitchell Starc for 70-80 runs from their 10 overs regularly. While batsmen from Australia, England and South Africa continue to pile on the runs, their bowlers haven’t used it as some sort of excuse for being taken for more than 350 runs on a regular basis.
As far as the Indian team is concerned, they have scored more than 330 three times over the past two years but have conceded as many five times. So while the Indian batting looks robust, in reality their bowling line-up is considerably weak and more likely to concede 330-plus scores than Bangladesh, who have done that only twice in the said period while playing only 10 less ODIs.
If Bhuvneshwar feels bowling in one-dayers is becoming a nightmare and the only way forwards is to prepare for scores of 350, then he might end up on the losing side more often than not. Because while other strong teams plunder the runs, they also have the firepower to control the runs with the ball. A good bunch of bowlers will remain so and continue to find ways to improve themselves.
And also, batsmen can’t always fire. There will be days when they will have to be bailed out. That can only happen if the bowlers fight to stop every run conceded.
Superb match. Sets tone for the T20 matches. Will not be easy for India. England's hard fought win today makes the series 50-50
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) January 22, 2017
END OF ABD IN TESTS?
The AB de Villiers saga is not turning out the way South Africa wanted it to.
After being sidelined for a considerable period due to his elbow injury, it was expected that De Villiers would return to the Test fold at some point. But injuries seem to have taken a greater toll on one of the finest cricketers produced by South Africa.
De Villiers has said he doesn’t intend to push himself in Tests in 2017 because he wants to preserve himself for the 2019 World Cup and clinch the silverware missing in South Africa’s cabinet – an ICC trophy. Things started to go awry for De Villiers in Tests in 2016 when he first became stand-in and then permanent captain.
However, an elbow injury in July sidelined him and he hasn’t played for the Proteas in any format since June last year.
In his absence, Faf du Plessis has taken over as skipper and the team isn’t exactly missing him, registering Test series wins over Australia and Sri Lanka.
I am afraid it is looking more and more like we may have seen the last of @ABdeVilliers17 in test cricket. So hope it isn't the case.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 18, 2017
Motivation is a great factor for any top class Test cricketer and given the way De Villiers wants to pick and choose his Test schedule, I don’t think the South Africans can afford to wait for the iconic player to take his time.
South Africa are feeling the pinch of the exodus of a bunch of players to county cricket and they need a clear roadmap for the future. The uncertainty surrounding De Villiers is doing the team no good and it would be best if he makes up his mind about Tests once and for all.
