Batting in Test matches is not exactly in the pink of health at the moment. The Ashes series in England has been a prime example, with all four Tests finishing inside four days and the last two inside three. The Aussies have been shot out for paltry scores of 60 and 136 while the Englishmen too have been dismissed for 103.
In 2015 we have seen eight scores below 150 in 23 Tests, a disconcertingly high number given that wickets are not as treacherous as they used to be a decade or so back. While 17 matches this year have produced results, poor batting has played its part in a lot of those results. For West Indies batting legend Viv Richards, it’s a combination of good bowling and impatient batsmanship that has resulted in a general dip in batting.
“You can point you finger at both (good bowling and poor batting). You have T20 and that also plays a part in some of the shots batsmen play. You see guys playing the same shots in T20s and Tests and are sometimes lucky to get away with it. Guys are playing a lot of limited overs cricket and not making that adjustment when it comes to the longer version and pay a price for that,” Richards told Sport360.
“If you take the West Indies or recently Australia, some matches have been short. Techniques have played a part in some of the shots played, making the same mistakes over and over again.
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“At some point, individuals have to play according to the situation. Recently in Birmingham, the ball was swinging in the air, moving around. For some reason we see batsmen not having the same technique to cope.
“Someone like (former England opener) Geoff Boycott, he would have relished those sort of conditions. When you are playing the longer version, there are times when you don’t have to get bat on ball on a regular basis but maybe a good leave outside the off stump can play its part in you surviving and the time that you would like to spend on the crease. But that is not happening,” the Antiguan revealed during an interaction held at the Grand Hyatt in Dubai, where he took part in a special event for Hyatt Gold Passport Members.
The strapping West Indian gave the example of current Indian batsmen and said they need to carry forward the legacy of the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar and that it can only be achieved if they learn the art of playing the waiting game.
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Richards’ words proved prophetic as a few days following the interaction, Virat Kohli’s team collapsed to 112 all out chasing 176 for victory in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle.
“When you talk about the young Indian batsmen, these are the people that need to have an idea about how technical they (Gavaskar and Tendulkar) were and how they made batting look rather easy.
“I hope that there can be a solution where T20 is still a huge part of the game, especially if young guys today understand what a Test match is all about. To me, you have to learn the game from the grass-roots and then reach the next stage where you can be explosive,” the 63-year-old said.
“We have to find an avenue where individuals learn the game from the grass roots rather than say ‘OK, I don’t want to represent my country anymore because there is a huge attraction where T20 is concerned’. If we can modify that, we can get individuals who can play longer days in Test matches and with a little bit more batsmanship. If that doesn’t happen, we are going to lose that trend in terms of people we admired over the years… like Don Bradman whose name is still very much present. It will be sad if we lose that kind of batting.”
But it’s not all doom and gloom as far as Richards is concerned. Young batting stars like Kohli, England’s Joe Root, Aussie Steven Smith and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson are some of the players he feel can take Test batting forward.
“All these guys can do that (bat for a long duration). There is nothing wrong in being aggressive. There are times when that can be done, and there are times when you have to graft a bit. Take for instance Chris Rogers. Just the way he scores his runs, they are ugly at times but useful to his team’s cause,” he said.
The former West Indies captain believes that if up-and-coming batsmen need someone to look up to and emulate, retiring Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara is the perfect candidate for it.
“He is just phenomenal. And he has shown you don’t need to be 24-25 to be a successful batsman. In his mid 30s he has been more successful than any other individual I have seen that has held a bat. He is a calm individual who I thought, when he first started, was pretty ordinary. But it goes to show if someone prepares well and decides to do the hard work to be successful, it’s going to be pretty fruitful.”
The Caribbean legend also spoke about West Indies cricket and, specifically, about the way batting stalwart Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s selection issue was handled by the West Indies board.
Chanderpaul had expressed his desire to play in the Test series against Australia in June, but chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd and new coach Phil Simmons decided that he didn’t deserve a place in the side. Many felt the left-handed batsmen, with 30 Test centuries, should have been given a proper farewell but Richards said he understood why the management took that decision.
“One has got to respect the new coach Simmons and he is looking to take the team forward. There are certain players that he has in mind that can play a part in the development. Chanderpaul wanted to do things on his own terms. Maybe that’s what caused the bad taste regarding his selection.”
