BATSMANS WORLD

[mal]

International Test cricket has become a batsmans world.
Since 2000 the quality of bowler has slipped alarmingly.
Here is a list of reasons I have come up with why batsman are inflating thier averages these days.

Conspiracy to produce flatter decks for 5 day tests to maximise attendances
Helmets and superior protective equipment
Bangladesh /Zimbabwe
Teams have to bowl minumum overs[90 ?] in a days play.
Too much cricket on the calender, bowlers worn out or injury prone.
Heavier + wider bats ?
Shorter boundarys, ropes not fences
When it rains bowlers must make up the other days + bowl 100+ overs in a day
Bad light meters
Lack of lead up games on tours for bowlers to gain fitness/rhythm.

And the number one answer
LACK OF GOOD PACE BOWLERS

Just look at the pace bowlers at the minute around the world
There has probably never been a better time to be a batsman and inflate your batting average.
With Aktar/Bond/Tait repeatedly breaking down it does not leave too many genuinely
quick bowlers around the globe.

BANG/IND/PAK/NZ/SL/WI/ZIM lack good experienced FIT pace bowlers.
Aktar/Bond seemingly watch more games than they play
IN/SL have some younger quicks coming through but are unproven as yet.

EG have FLINTOFF when fit HARMISON on his day JONES is always injured
SA have NTINI/STYNE/NEL probably the best combo in world cricket [Pollock is finished now ?]
AU have LEE/CLARK [Lee has excelled in 2 tests after a a few leanish years]

When I look at who are fit reliable pace bowlers over a period of time Im left with ????????????
Glen Mcgrath was the last one, are we heading for extinction of great fit 5-10 year pace bowlers?

Right now if I was a batsman who would I most fear as a pace bowler
S CLARK
D STEYN [he is 24 quick but will inevitably burn out as well]
B LEE
They are not exactly guys who will be household names now or in the future.

Ive had some interesting discussions with others about batsmans averages over different eras.
To me todays batsman are about a 10 run advatage over the guys who batted in the 70-80s
in particular.

An example is G CHAPPELL/BORDER/PONTING

Thier averages ?

G.CHAPPELL 52 ?
BORDER 54 ?
PONTING 59

I consider Chappell as the 2nd best batsman after Bradman that has played for AU
He had to face the brutal WI quicks
He faced far superior EG bowlers
He played a lot of cricket against those teams
He rarely played minnow or weak nations
And yet he averages about 7 less than Ponting ?

If Chappell was a batsman from 2000 -2007 He would average about 65

Not being disrespectful of Sir Mike Hussey but he averages about 80 odd
BUT
Who has he ever faced ?

Its a batsmans world.

[smithy]

MAL,
I do agree with you but would like to highlight some of your points...

Flatter decks to maximise attendance - Not sure about around the world but all the Australian grounds have played the same in the past 30 years with the exception of the WACA which is not as fast as it once was. THE MCG was appalling 30 years ago but they seem to get results there now..

BANGA/ZIMB - They don't really play enough to inflate players averages to an extreme level.
I will however back the fact that a certain spinner has A LOT of CHEAP wickets against them.

Teams have to bowl 90 overs in a day - This rule was brought in because of the windies bowling 70 overs a day.. Surely good for cricket and the punters...plus the more overs you bowl surely the more chance of a wicket.

TOo much on the calendar - Australia havent played a test match for 10 months, ASIAN nations are all about one dayers.....even 12 test matches per year is a maximum of 60 days cricket....I'd love to play that for $500,000 per year..

Heavier/wider bats - Heavier YES, wider No.......laws quite clearly state what width they can be..

lack of lead up matches - Surely this applies to the batsman as well...

As for lack of pace bowlers with Bond, Akhtar etc being injured, that is 100% correct except for Lee.... are they choosing another sport???

[mal]

SMITHY
In the 60- 70s as a pace bowler in Australia you were likely to play a 5 test series
and then have the winter off to watch the SANFL or go to the races.
Back then some players combined footy /cricket
FREEMAN/HAWKE/ROBRAN/NASH were some players that did it.
Craig BRADLEY was probably the last one to do that in the 80s

Granted AU has had an extended rest from test cricket but there have been
and will be overloads in the schedules.

Brett LEE is back to his best because he is fresh
When he combines TESTS/ONE DAY INTS/20-20 games against
SL/IN/NZ here and then has to front up to a tour of Pakistan in Febuary I wonder
how long LEE can stay fit fresh and fast ?
Add also possible stints with NSW and he may will be rooted later in the season.

The Amount of overs International cricketers bowl compared to the 60-70-80S would be a lot more

[smithy]

MAL - I'm with ya man,, don't get me wrong..
But you keep going from the early 90's, to 80's now you quote the 60's...
In the 60's they smoked a carton of Dunhills and sucked a slab of Tooheys as their warm ups and downs... how does that compare to today?????

[Rik E Boy]

And 20/20 will do wonders for the bowling breed. It will get worse. I'm convinced that for a few silver tokens that 20/20 will destroy the game of cricket just so bean counters can win over the wavering.

regards,

REB

[rod_rooster]

And 20/20 will do wonders for the bowling breed. It will get worse. I'm convinced that for a few silver tokens that 20/20 will destroy the game of cricket just so bean counters can win over the wavering.

regards,

REB

Spot on REB.

[westozfalcon]

I actually think the bats used nowadays are a significant factor. You look at the profile and thickness of them and they are 3 times the size of what bats were 20-25 years ago. Compare them to the Gray-Nicolls Super Scoops, Gunn & Moore and Symonds bats of the 70's & 80's and they completely dwarf them. With just a modicum of timing, even average batsmen can send the ball racing to the fence.

I'd like to see what power hitters like Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Ian Botham and David Hookes could have done to attacks with one of the current-day blades in their hands!

[heater31]

I actually think the bats used nowadays are a significant factor. You look at the profile and thickness of them and they are 3 times the size of what bats were 20-25 years ago. Compare them to the Gray-Nicolls Super Scoops, Gunn & Moore and Symonds bats of the 70's & 80's and they completely dwarf them. With just a modicum of timing, even average batsmen can send the ball racing to the fence.

I'd like to see what power hitters like Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Ian Botham and David Hookes could have done to attacks with one of the current-day blades in their hands!

I was discussing this very fact yesterday at Parkinson Oval. a Grey Nic Fusion bat was leaning up against a wall and a comment was made how thick the meat of the bat (Thanks Tony ) was and similarly the new Slazenger was reasonably meaty. These bat manufacturers have spent countless coin in trying to get the weight in the right places.

Now I use a Stuart Surridge Prestige that is 3 seasons old and has 2 lb 10oz stamped on the handle added 3 rubber grips and a toe guard it feels no where near the stamped weight. Compared to the Kookaburra Kahuna with the carbon fibre backing it is chalk and cheese. the Kooka is a lump of shite despite being 2 lb 6

[blink]

the Kooka is a lump of shite despite being 2 lb 6

And yet Ricky Ponting made approx 1500 Test runs a couple of seasons ago using one?!?

I am a big believer in that no matter what type of bat/stick/club you use when playing any sport, it won't improve your skill one iota.
Obviously if the bat/stick/club is too long, too heavy or too short for you - it will make a difference, but trivial things like the make, design and material will not make a shred of difference.

[locky801]

What ever happened to the Grey Nicholls Scoop Bat, best bat I ever used, Mal I agree with your points, think you are pretty well spot on, only one that really is off the boil is pitches made to get 5 day tests to last the distance, the Aussies have killed that theory over the last half a dozen or so years, least the current test will go pretty well into day 5, in fact I reckon the result will come in the last 15 overs of the match

[heater31]

the Kooka is a lump of shite despite being 2 lb 6

And yet Ricky Ponting made approx 1500 Test runs a couple of seasons ago using one?!?

I am a big believer in that no matter what type of bat/stick/club you use when playing any sport, it won't improve your skill one iota.
Obviously if the bat/stick/club is too long, too heavy or too short for you - it will make a difference, but trivial things like the make, design and material will not make a shred of difference.

Kookaburra seriously ripped off the non professionals with this lump of firewood. Mine has a damaged toe on the back of the bat with not a mark on the face of the blade they have told me its yorker damage. bullshite!


The first class players have a different grade of timber to the average joe and if they break one their manufacturer just brings them another one. unlike us its a bitch fight to repair it or another $650 for another rivals bat



Locky the last time I ever saw a brand new Scoop was in 95/96 season a team-mate had just bought it and was tapping it in.

[locky801]

Best bat I ever used Heater, played over 20 years cricket and used 2 of them for a few years Had one for 6 years was more the bat than my ability that got me alot of runs

[Rik E Boy]

Lee is on a hat trick. mally on the money again.

regards,

REB

[Stumps]

the Kooka is a lump of shite despite being 2 lb 6

And yet Ricky Ponting made approx 1500 Test runs a couple of seasons ago using one?!?

I am a big believer in that no matter what type of bat/stick/club you use when playing any sport, it won't improve your skill one iota.
Obviously if the bat/stick/club is too long, too heavy or too short for you - it will make a difference, but trivial things like the make, design and material will not make a shred of difference.

If you believe they all use the bats that the stickers suggest they are you are kidding yourselves.
Disagree with the second point as well blink- design is crucial in cricket and different players have a different profile of bat to suit the way they play (front foot or back foot players)

[Hondo]

I've no doubt some of the current Aussie batting averages are inflated I think Mal is OTM

Even the much maligned Kimberly Hughes would have averaged close to 50 if he played today IMO

The Huss is a legend and one of my fav players but to be averaging over 80 doesn't seem right

Making our decks less flat would be a good start

[locky801]

Making our decks less flat would be a good start

Perhaps opposition sides having quality batsman might help, the aussies don't seem to struggle all that much on surfaces all around the world where other sides do, either our batsman are elite or opposition bowlers are sub standard, I think in a lot of cases the pitch has nothing to do with it, it is all in the mind and your ability

[redden whites]

[quote="mal"]International Test cricket has become a batsmans world.
Since 2000 the quality of bowler has slipped alarmingly.
Here is a list of reasons I have come up with why batsman are inflating thier averages these days.

Conspiracy to produce flatter decks for 5 day tests to maximise attendances
Helmets and superior protective equipment
Bangladesh /Zimbabwe
Teams have to bowl minumum overs[90 ?] in a days play.
Too much cricket on the calender, bowlers worn out or injury prone.
Heavier + wider bats ?
Shorter boundarys, ropes not fences
When it rains bowlers must make up the other days + bowl 100+ overs in a day
Bad light meters
Lack of lead up games on tours for bowlers to gain fitness/rhythm.




Got to give the points to Mal here also...well put!
Maybe another could be the demise of the rest day also?Last last day shooters and grubbers have nearly gone too as players actually played on a 6th day pitch 25 or so years ago and the bowlers had a freshen up mid game.

[spell_check]

International Test cricket has become a batsmans world.
Since 2000 the quality of bowler has slipped alarmingly.
Here is a list of reasons I have come up with why batsman are inflating thier averages these days.

Conspiracy to produce flatter decks for 5 day tests to maximise attendances
Helmets and superior protective equipment
Bangladesh /Zimbabwe
Teams have to bowl minumum overs[90 ?] in a days play.
Too much cricket on the calender, bowlers worn out or injury prone.
Heavier + wider bats ?
Shorter boundarys, ropes not fences
When it rains bowlers must make up the other days + bowl 100+ overs in a day
Bad light meters
Lack of lead up games on tours for bowlers to gain fitness/rhythm.




Got to give the points to Mal here also...well put!
Maybe another could be the demise of the rest day also?Last last day shooters and grubbers have nearly gone too as players actually played on a 6th day pitch 25 or so years ago and the bowlers had a freshen up mid game.

I have some highlights of the Melbourne Test match in 1981 between Australia and India; India's last win in Australia until 2003 at Adelaide Oval. smithy touched on the state of the MCG wicket - that match was a perfect example. Balls were being dug in about halfway/even shorter than halfway, but cannoning into the stumps about 15-20 cms off the ground. I would have thought that uneven bounce like that would be dangerous, even with protection, you can still get hurt if it hits you in the wrong spot.

In regards to the amount of International Cricket played; teams used to play lots of tour matches - I doubt you could say that the intensity was the same, but the players were still out there for 6 or so hours per day.

The MCC's tour of Australia in 1974/75 consisted of:
2 First Class matches against SA
1 First Class match against Victoria
2 First Class matches against NSW
1 First Class match against Qld
1 First Class match against WA
2 First Class matches against Tasmania
1 One Day International against Australia
6 Test Matches against Australia
1 Limited Overs match against New Zealand - they were the winners of the Gillette Cup that season, so they won the right to play them

This tour lasted from the 1st of November to the 13th of February.

[Hondo]

Making our decks less flat would be a good start

Perhaps opposition sides having quality batsman might help, the aussies don't seem to struggle all that much on surfaces all around the world where other sides do, either our batsman are elite or opposition bowlers are sub standard,

Yes, good point I didn't think that one through very well

You're right we don't seem to have so much trouble bowling the opposition out

[MatteeG]

BATSMANS WORLD? I'd rather: