One of the most important reasons why Twenty 20 Cricket is producing low scoring matches is due to poor approach towards batting by batsman. There are about 60 dot balls in a innings which means 50% of the deliveries are wasted. There are two types of batsmen with contrasting batting approaches but the end result is that the approaches of neither of them is in the best interests of the team or that of viewers or paying public.
Poor Approach Towards Batting.
Approach of Stroke Players:- Batsman come with a preset mind to blast each and every ball for boundaries or sixes. The execution is done without a plan or with a limited plan. For example a batsman goes to the crease, decides to step out of the crease and hit each and every ball in a predetermined area, let us say for example, hit straight or heave it on the leg side irrespective of the length of the delivery or the field plan. They merely bank on their connection skills, as to how many shots can they connect. If their connection percentage is less, that means more dot balls. Eventhough their intent is good and positive in the interests of the team, the ultimate result is bad for the team in the form of too many dot balls should they miss their heaves often.
Defensive Batsmen:- These batsman stay rooted to their crease and just pat the ball back to the fielder or the bowler. The bowlers bowl to their field and these batsmen also play to the field setting of the fielding team. They do not try to improvise. They only wait for the loose balls to hit boundaries. If the bowler does not bowl a high percentage of loose balls, they are content with whatever runs they get. There is no effort whatsoever to convert singles out of dot balls, or try to hit boundaries of good balls. They merely play to the hands of the fielding team and ruin their own teams chances.
Intelligent Bowers:-
Unlike batsmen, bowlers in this format have proved to be very intelligent. When a batsmen is intent on giving the charge, the bowlers just stick to their basics, waiting for the batsman to err. They know a batsman cannot connect each and every delivery and if they miss one it is a dot ball or a wicket and that suits them and their team as well. When they see a defensive batsman they just push through their overs, sticking to their line and length and field setting, knowing fully well that the batsmen are not going to improvise which will help in improving their bowling figures and help their teams cause as well.
If you look at the match between Sussex Sharks and Diamond Eagles, played on 13th October 2009 wherein both tams scored a mere 119 runs each in their allotted 20 overs, there were 56 dot balls in Sussex Shark innings and 53 dot balls in Diamond Eagles innings. That is a combined total of 109 dot balls which translates to 18.1 overs. That means almost an entire innings of 20 overs was not scored and that really is a bad advertisement for the game's late format. If Sussex Sharks could have converted 56 dot balls into 40 singles, they could have scored around 160. That would have been challenging for the opposition and exciting for the viewers and paying public.
Suggestions to Improve Batting for Stroke Players:-
1) Charging out to every ball does not help, because if you miss then it is a dot ball. This should be used occasionally as a tactic to unsettle the bowler or upset his line and length.
2) Predetermined strokes do not help your cause, and predetermined areas do not work, because the bowler will stop bowing those balls and in those areas, once you get a few strokes in your areas.
3) Staying inside your crease will allow you to check your stroke if you are unable to execute your original stroke.
Suggestions to Improve Batting for Defensive Players:-
1) Waiting for a loose ball is a negative approach. An effort should be made to create a loose ball. This could be done by tactics like changing stance, backing out little far or trying a reverse sweep. However this should only be done occasionally.
2) Taking singles will help in rotating strike. This would mean that the bowler has to readjust his length and field setting regularly which is not easy. It also creates pressure on the bowler and captain as time is wasted and the fielding team needs to push its bowers to avoid getting penalized.
These suggestions if followed would be in the best interests of batsmen, batting team and viewers and more importantly for this latest format of the game.
Regards
Satish