Back in September, an image taken from Fox Sports’ coverage of the JLT Cup did the rounds. A NSW batsman had just arrived at the crease and, per tradition, viewers were treated to a basic statistical overview of his record-to-date. After matches, runs, average and strike rate came the offending metric: 30s.
It may have been tongue-in-cheek; it may have been photoshopped, but it cut through. Cricket Australia’s official channel had recently referred to statistical documents highlighting “the importance of 30-plus scores”, which, next to new coach Justin Langer’s emphasis on hundreds, neatly underscored Australia’s batting muddle.
Three-format cricket may be entrenched, but Australia’s approach to it isn’t. Surveying the views of those at the batting coalface and beyond reveals wildly divergent views on mechanics, strategy, structure, the role of coaches and priorities. Opinions are fierce, but few want to go on record. All agree that Australia’s batting is struggling.
When it comes to batting, the man with the highest professional and political cachet in the land is Greg Chappell. He acknowledges the difficulty. Speaking to Guardian Australia, the current national talent manager and national selector says: “As a game, we’re wrestling with the transition into three formats, knowing exactly what skills need to be learnt when, and understanding different mindsets required for the different formats. I think that’s a challenge we perhaps haven’t really nailed at this stage.”
Life for professional batsmen in 2018 is appreciably different from generations past. As one coach puts it: “Kids go in on Tuesday and practice leaving it. They go in on Wednesday and practice reverse sweeping that same ball. The game’s become more complex.
“Since the IPL, players on flat surfaces are expected to score at ridiculous rates, then are expected to bat a day and a half in a Test match. You are asking more of this generation than anyone before it. So to ask an individual to figure it out like they did in the 1970s is too much. Even in the 90s, one day cricket and Test cricket weren’t that dissimilar. Look at the ’99 World Cup, it wasn’t like Steve Waugh’s team were being asked to chase 300.”
Most see that short format cricket impacts long form technique, and after a decade of T20 cricket, distinct batting species have taken hold. The dichotomy of “the hitter” versus “the batsman” is one that is increasingly repeated, and Chappell raises it himself.
“It’s a difficult one,” he says. “Do we get our young players trying to develop a style that suits all formats? There’s a very big difference between being a good batsman and a good hitter – different requirements, different mindsets. I think as a game we’ve really struggled to come to grips with that.”
For emerging players, hitting is likely to be more profitable than batting. In a saturated schedule with relatively few long form batting positions on offer, it follows that investment will increasingly skew towards clearing the pickets. It is said that one Australian batsman already spends significantly more time on baseball practice than cricket practice, to underscore the point.
As Australian cricket strives to develop an apparatus to better equip its batsmen for the rigours of three formats, it bears examining some reflections on its current coaching setup, which is largely hosted at Brisbane’s Centre of Excellence. Notable in conversations is reference to dogmatic approaches to batting mechanics – especially in relation to grip and bat pick-up. Even more curious is repeated mention of the “dogstick” (its official name is The Sidearm). Commonly used as a tool to throw tennis balls for dogs to chase, a cricket-specific incarnation has emerged, allowing coaches the opportunity to deliver balls at game speed, while saving their shoulder. It’s an improvement on the traditional “throwdown”, though some suggest disproportionate credibility is ascribed to coaches who have mastered the dogstick, in relation to those who can communicate complex ideas. In fairness, it is merely a training aid whose effectiveness is entirely linked to how it’s used.
Players, however, don’t have to subscribe exclusively to the internal setup. Many coaches exist outside the system, and counsel their clients on a private basis. The benefit is an independent voice who may have a deeper understanding of who the player is and how they operate, but there’s a flip side too: another voice, another view, often competing, meaning more muddle. It’s mentioned that Australia’s new coach may be more open to players seeking independent advice, but it’s a view not shared by Chappell, who says he is not convinced about gurus. “I think coaching, like batting, is a lot of hard work, discipline, patience and skill, to be able to create an environment where youngsters can learn all the things that they need.”
Ahead of a high stakes period that includes a home series to the ICC-ranked world No 1 team, a World Cup in England and an Ashes series away, it’s hard to think of a phase that will ask for more batting range. Whether Australia’s batting brains trust can beat the curve will go a long way to determining its success. More 30s might help prevent a collapse, but it won’t do much more.
