Date-stamped : 27 May94 - 18:24
Finally we learn what the game [ODIs] is all about
by Glenn Turner

[Slightly shortened version].

Published in: Sunday Star-Times, April 10th 1994.

Our expectations of what cricket is all about were finally met in
the last two weeks of the season. A tame draw in a test match was
followed by three closely contested ODIs where two  sides  strung
together six innings in excess of 210 runs.

In the ODI#2 in Wellington, India scored 255.  Apart  from   this
being  the  highest  team  total  of the summer in ODIs, what im-
pressed me most was the way the innings was structured.

I regard the first 15 overs as the attacking phase;  the  next 25
overs as the collecting, or accumulating, phase; and the final 10
overs as the improvising stage.  After 15  overs  a  possible   5
fielders can be stationed on the boundary.

In Wellington the Indians batted as if  following  my  model.  10
boundaries  were  struck in the first 15 overs, and only 9 in the
remaining 35 overs.

One question that immediately springs  to   mind   is:   How   do
batsmen  in the first 15 overs score quickly against Waqar Younis
and Wasim Akram? The answer is: With difficulty. However it  will
be  even  more difficult in the final 10 overs against Younis and
Akram because the older ball swings more for them and  they   can
set run saving fields.

The fear of losing wickets  early   appears   to   dominate   the
thinking  of  most sides when starting an innings. In my view, if
the batting side defends from the start, it delays the  attacking
phase to the point whereby the fielding side can use the rules of
the game to help it defend. In Auckland, Tendulkar  showed   what
was  possible.  Admittedly  his was a rather sensational innings,
but just imagine what would be possible if  each  batsman  played
with unrestricted confidence.

If the job has been done successfully in  the  first  15   overs,
collecting  runs  in the middle stages of an innings becomes much
easier. The fielding side is fearful of placing too many  players
inside   the  circle,  afraid  of  an ongoing boundary feast.  So
milk- ing of the bowling by taking ones and twos results in  four
runs an  over  without  difficulty. And it becomes much easier to
con- serve wickets and not lose momentum during this period.

Everything has now been  set  up   for   an   entertaining,   en-
terprising  flurry  over  the  final 10 overs. If the innings has
gone to plan, five to six wickets should still be  in hand.   The
biggest  mistake  batsmen  can make over the final 10 overs is to
either slog out, or to  indulge  in  too  many wild  swings   and
misses.   Controlled  hitting,  improvisation, and bail-out shots
are required. To get some bat or pad on every  ball  will  ensure
good success, and hopefully better than that.

India were so well set  up leading into  the   final   10   overs
that,  by scoring only 71 and ending with 5 wickets in hand, they
missed an opportunity.  They could have been expected to score  -
probably should have - an additional 15 runs or more.

<END> Contributed by Geoff.Bethell (srg3lib@*grace.cri.nz)