Masterclass: Fast Bowling On Unhelpful Pitches
One of the great challenges for bowlers is bowling at good batsmen when the wicket is slow and easy paced and there is minimal assistance for the ball – no pace, no bounce, no swing, nothing!
The first thing to realise is that there is nowhere to hide, so you need to accept the challenge for what it is – to get the other team out!
It is of critical importance that you keep this in mind throughout your performance. This risk of forgetting that you are there to get the batsmen out is settling for containment and, although tight bowling can be associated with wicket taking, you must never accept that you cannot get the batsman out. If you are aiming to contain and you succeed you will slow down the runs, whereas if you are aiming to take wickets and you succeed you’ll get players out and stop the runs – so be careful what you wish for!
The next step is to identify the best way to get the batsman out. In this situation the same principles of good bowling apply as in all conditions and you will need to be aggressive and relentlessly accurate in attacking the ‘top of off stump’.
Bowling to this plan gives you the maximum chance of taking wickets, as this strategy allows wickets to fall bowled, lbw and caught behind the wicket which are the most frequent ways batsmen are dismissed. Playing the percentages and persisting with this approach will give you a good chance of success. Additionally, bowling this line and length makes it difficult for the batsman to score freely as it does not give the batsman room to work with in terms of line and length.
However, there is another important dynamic that you will need to be mindful of when bowling on unhelpful pitches. If you are bowling all of your balls full and at the stumps (which is essentially the right idea), you may find that the batsman is settling into a routine of prodding forward. If you identify that this is the case you need to change the game. Batsmen love to settle into an easy routine of getting onto the front foot. If this is happening, you need to take the batsman out of his comfort zone and you can do this with use of your variation.
Here are some ideas:
- Make use of a few selectively used bouncers – Aggressive, short-pitched bowling with a surprise element is a great way to unsettle a batsman and force him onto the back foot. When you have pushed him back then you can look to attack at a fuller length again but the key idea is not to let the batsman settle and get comfortable. The bouncer is a great ball on a flat wicket as it may keep low and surprise the batsman, but most importantly it demonstrates your aggression and lets the batsman know that he can’t have it all his own way. You should aim to get your bouncer head high at the least!
- Vary your release points on the crease – Slight and subtle changes of the angle of release of the ball will, if nothing else, put the batsman on notice that he can’t get too comfortable against you and may lead to an error in judgment, particularly if the batsman is getting tired and lazy in terms of propping onto the front foot.
- Use your slower balls, cutters and Yorkers – Again, make the batsman work for his runs, don’t let him settle and the Yorker is a great ball anyway if bowled well, as if the batsman misses and you hit, you have a wicket. Cutters and slower balls help create errors in terms of catches to mid-on, mid-off, mid- wicket and cover and will break up a batsman’s rhythm.
- Attack new batsmen – The hardest part of a batsman’s inning is the start and no matter how flat the wicket you need to grab the opportunity to attack while it’s there by challenging the stumps, attacking fielders and channeled aggression.
- Set straight fields – If you are bowling the majority of your balls at the stumps you will need a straight field, including the key positions of mid-on and mid-off (these positions can be set a bit deeper than usual to let the batsman know he will have to hit the ball hard to score straight, which may cause him to make a mistake trying to overhit the ball), mid wicket, cover, first slip (no mater how flat the wicket is and how unlikely a nick may seem you never know your luck and don’t want to miss the opportunity should it arise) and fine leg.
- Bowl around the wicket – A change of angle will again make the batsman adjust to the different line and angle of release and going around the wicket is a very good variation for left arm bowlers to right hand batsmen and right arm bowlers to left hand batsmen when there is no swing.
- Be aggressive – Your job is to get the batsman out and you will need to be aggressive in your intent to dismiss the batsman, otherwise he will walk all over you. Show him with your body language and actions that you are after him and let him know he will have to bat very well to score runs against you.
- Be open to ideas form your teammates – Seek out the advice of you teammates in particular your captain and wicketkeeper, they may have some ideas or a different view of the game that may help you get a wicket.
- Enjoy the challenge – Although it will be hard work, knowing that you are able to compete with and dismiss batsmen when the conditions don’t suit you will be tremendously satisfying and great for your confidence.
Good Luck
Mark
One of the great challenges for bowlers is bowling at good batsmen when the wicket is slow and easy paced and there is minimal assistance for the ball – no pace, no bounce, no swing, nothing!
The first thing to realise is that there is nowhere to hide, so you need to accept the challenge for what it is – to get the other team out!
It is of critical importance that you keep this in mind throughout your performance. This risk of forgetting that you are there to get the batsmen out is settling for containment and, although tight bowling can be associated with wicket taking, you must never accept that you cannot get the batsman out. If you are aiming to contain and you succeed you will slow down the runs, whereas if you are aiming to take wickets and you succeed you’ll get players out and stop the runs – so be careful what you wish for!
The next step is to identify the best way to get the batsman out. In this situation the same principles of good bowling apply as in all conditions and you will need to be aggressive and relentlessly accurate in attacking the ‘top of off stump’.
Bowling to this plan gives you the maximum chance of taking wickets, as this strategy allows wickets to fall bowled, lbw and caught behind the wicket which are the most frequent ways batsmen are dismissed. Playing the percentages and persisting with this approach will give you a good chance of success. Additionally, bowling this line and length makes it difficult for the batsman to score freely as it does not give the batsman room to work with in terms of line and length.
However, there is another important dynamic that you will need to be mindful of when bowling on unhelpful pitches. If you are bowling all of your balls full and at the stumps (which is essentially the right idea), you may find that the batsman is settling into a routine of prodding forward. If you identify that this is the case you need to change the game. Batsmen love to settle into an easy routine of getting onto the front foot. If this is happening, you need to take the batsman out of his comfort zone and you can do this with use of your variation.
Here are some ideas:
- Make use of a few selectively used bouncers – Aggressive, short-pitched bowling with a surprise element is a great way to unsettle a batsman and force him onto the back foot. When you have pushed him back then you can look to attack at a fuller length again but the key idea is not to let the batsman settle and get comfortable. The bouncer is a great ball on a flat wicket as it may keep low and surprise the batsman, but most importantly it demonstrates your aggression and lets the batsman know that he can’t have it all his own way. You should aim to get your bouncer head high at the least!
- Vary your release points on the crease – Slight and subtle changes of the angle of release of the ball will, if nothing else, put the batsman on notice that he can’t get too comfortable against you and may lead to an error in judgment, particularly if the batsman is getting tired and lazy in terms of propping onto the front foot.
- Use your slower balls, cutters and Yorkers – Again, make the batsman work for his runs, don’t let him settle and the Yorker is a great ball anyway if bowled well, as if the batsman misses and you hit, you have a wicket. Cutters and slower balls help create errors in terms of catches to mid-on, mid-off, mid- wicket and cover and will break up a batsman’s rhythm.
- Attack new batsmen – The hardest part of a batsman’s inning is the start and no matter how flat the wicket you need to grab the opportunity to attack while it’s there by challenging the stumps, attacking fielders and channeled aggression.
- Set straight fields – If you are bowling the majority of your balls at the stumps you will need a straight field, including the key positions of mid-on and mid-off (these positions can be set a bit deeper than usual to let the batsman know he will have to hit the ball hard to score straight, which may cause him to make a mistake trying to overhit the ball), mid wicket, cover, first slip (no mater how flat the wicket is and how unlikely a nick may seem you never know your luck and don’t want to miss the opportunity should it arise) and fine leg.
- Bowl around the wicket – A change of angle will again make the batsman adjust to the different line and angle of release and going around the wicket is a very good variation for left arm bowlers to right hand batsmen and right arm bowlers to left hand batsmen when there is no swing.
- Be aggressive – Your job is to get the batsman out and you will need to be aggressive in your intent to dismiss the batsman, otherwise he will walk all over you. Show him with your body language and actions that you are after him and let him know he will have to bat very well to score runs against you.
- Be open to ideas form your teammates – Seek out the advice of you teammates in particular your captain and wicketkeeper, they may have some ideas or a different view of the game that may help you get a wicket.
- Enjoy the challenge – Although it will be hard work, knowing that you are able to compete with and dismiss batsmen when the conditions don’t suit you will be tremendously satisfying and great for your confidence.
Good Luck
Mark
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