ICC World T20 - To open or 'not to open', with a spinner- Opinion ...

ICC World T20 - To open or ?not to open?, with a spinner- Opinion

The pitches in Sri Lanka for this year?s ICC World T20 have changed considerably. ?The fact that grass has been added, which promotes significant zip off of the wicket has given ample opportunities for bowlers, which bend their back and hit the deck to extract significant movement and trouble the opening batsmen from their opposition. Opening with spin however, especially in the subcontinent, has been considered as a trend that has been adopted in the shortest format of the game, where the general belief is that bowlers could easily stifle the run flow of the batsmen, and in the process, take crucial wickets upfront.

The reasons for opening with spin however, are multifold and complex. Firstly, the ball tends to skid onto the bat rather than spin, which baffles most openers, who look for turn and zip on subcontinent pitches. Secondly, it also puts pressure on those players who are accustomed to having pace on the ball in the early stages of the innings. Most conventional subcontinent wickets in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the past, have been placid, and offer little or no movement for pace bowlers early on. This has meant that the batsmen from countries such as Australia and South Africa expect bowling to be straight forward, lacking venom and easy to hit. Having a spinner on however, negates such possibilities as pace off the ball often elicits false strokes from the batsmen, which leads to their demise on more occasions than not.

The conditions in the Emerald Isle however, differ starkly to the conventional, crumbling wickets that Sri Lanka once used to have. With more grass on the pitches, especially in Pallekele, which holds the surface together, the prospects of spinners wreaking havoc early on and taking wickets is limited, unless one can turn the ball prodigiously such as Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka or Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan. These two spin wizards can turn the ball on even glass like surfaces, given that they are genuine finger spinners. However, other players who rely heavily on the conditions to be effective such as Yuvraj Singh or Daniel Vettori could struggle if they opt to open the bowling with the new ball. Wickets which offer a tinge of green ensure that spinners could easily be picked by dynamic opening batsmen, with little or no turn on offer. Therefore, the trend of bowling spin at the very start of the innings could backfire for most teams in this year?s tournament, in contrast to previous editions, where the wickets were diverse in nature.

The concept of using a spinner early on however, was pioneered ages ago. One can recall when the fifty-over format saw the likes of Deepak Patel; open the bowling for New Zealand in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Yet in T20 cricket, it is safe to say that Pakistan were the ones who started this trend of employing spin from the very start which has done wonders for them.? Their spin attack has managed to wreak havoc on oppositions, which have often fallen prey to the guile and zip of the Men in Green that could make the ball talk. Having said that, these spinners are also effective if the conditions are tailor made for them. With the sole exception of Saeed Ajmal, the likes of Mohammad Hafeez and Shahid Afridi would need wickets that generally offer some turn.

As previous games had demonstrated, the right idea for all teams contesting in this tournament would be to employ fast bowlers up front to take advantage of the lateral movement which has been on offer. When the wickets are offering enough for pace men, then resorting to spin and getting peppered would not be what the doctor ordered. The teams which pick up this fact and build upon it might be able to win games from nowhere this time around.?

Disclaimer: Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the author and do not represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.

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Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/ICC-World-T20-To-open-or-not-to-open,-with-a-spinner-Opinion-a189832

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