Windies batsmanship – Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Sports

Newsday Reporter

5 Hrs Ago

A number of batsmen in the Caribbean believe that they have to change their style to suit the various formats of the game.

One notices the extreme caution displayed when our batsmen play an innings in the first inning of a two-inning game; though an innings ought to be approached within the requirements of the match at the moment.

One doesn’t have to change one’s style in a Test match for, despite being five days long, a batsman hasn’t got to block just because he has oodles of time to bat.

Also, the type of bowling, plus the nuances of the pitch, are the most important elements in the determination of proper batting.

The entire strategy of the game unfolds from the approach of the batting to whatever the bowling has to offer.

This is where the mindset of the batsman comes into play. His cricket intelligence would inform him on where the possibility of scoring runs is likeliest.

He can put his team in trouble when scoring too slowly as no advantage is gained.

A top-class batsman is rated as such because of the cricket acumen he possesses, to adjust his batting to the demands of the situation.

It is similar to having to increase the scoring rate at times and at other moments having to take fewer risks; like after a mini-collapse when a couple of quick wickets are removed.

Playing an innings is all about using one’s knowledge of when to take a risk or not.

Taking a risk does not mean carelessly swinging at the ball without thinking of the outcome.

However, it does mean placing the ball studiously to collect singles and twos, searching out the gaps, and building the score to a suitable total for his team’s advantage.

That does not mean he should not crack the bad ball, like a long-hop, for four or six. Too often we look at batsmen in crucial moments of a Test match, unnecessarily playing strokes that include too much chance of a dismissal.

Or, on the other hand, playing far too carefully when his team is clearly on top.

The batsman who is thinking of his team and placing them in a position to gain the advantage to win the game is the whole idea of a match.

In a T20 game for instance, the batsman believes he is absolved by being caught on the boundary at any time during his innings, his reasoning being thus, “ it’s T20 and I must score runs as quickly as possible, regardless of risk.”

It is the excuse of most batsmen in that format of the game. And the problem is, they get away with that thinking.

It is derived from the immature thought process of the batsman who says, “ if it had gone for six, you wouldn’t blame me, would you?”

And in a single innings, maybe one in five, when one gets away with it, they believe it’s worth it; so that they continue their chancy affair with their opponents.

Intelligent batting is placing the ball when batting and if one studies top-class batting throughout the years, regardless of it being a Test, T20, or an ODI, one would notice the placing of the ball is the manner in which they accumulate their runs.

The above is a preamble to the West Indies batting line-up chosen by the selection committee comprising Desmond Haynes,

Roland Butcher and coach Andre Coley.

I read where Nkrumah Bonner was being spoken to by Haynes, the lead selector, explaining to him why he was dropped.

I’m shocked to think that he wouldn’t know why he was not selected.

It’s simply because he’s not making runs. Any schoolboy would have told him that.

The fortunate one to keep his place is Jermaine Blackwood. He has been pretty inconsistent for quite a while and doesn’t deserve a pick.

Maybe as vice-captain the selectors went along with him.

Or, which is a better idea, the committee did not want to make too many changes.

Moreover, from whatever angle one observes the selection, the in-form Darren Bravo, even in consideration of his shortcomings, might have been a better choice.

However, I hope the Jamaican, with so much natural ability, would make some big scores in the two Test matches in South Africa.

This two-Test series against South Africa is significant in its value to the development of WI Test cricket and could reveal to us a bright future in the making, or a tougher grind ahead, based on performance, not on results.