Okay the low scores worry me

[Jayzamann]

Originally Posted by Top_Cat

Not just spin, though. Considering the slow/low pitches, reckon anyone who takes the pace off the ball is going to have a good day against this Aussie line-up.

I've got a bad feeling it is going to work the other way, too. These spin-friendly pitches really haven't shown true for Haureh who has been slapped merrily in the warm up games. If Australia make it out of the group stage, I'd be super duper surprised if it is off the back of spin bowling successes.

ed: just read that both Smith and Clarke got 2-fers in the Windward Islands game. Maybe it won't be so bad.

[shivfan]

I'm tired of watching 20/20 matches where batsmen slaughter hapless bowlers....

Give me pitches that offer some assistance to bowlers for a change.

[Faisal1985]

I don't see how slow pitches, or turning pitches could take away the quality?

IMO the team which covers all basis ie. Spin, Seam, Pace, will be the team to come on top. And in all honesty, the team who can read the pitch correctly and design the playing 11 accordingly deserves a lot of credit for getting it right.

Walking into the WC without adequate resources in the first place and then start blaming the pitch is wrong.

[Scaly piscine]

Originally Posted by Faisal1985

I don't see how slow pitches, or turning pitches could take away the quality?

Slow and low pitches make it very difficult to attack. Edges don't carry. The batsmen have time to adjust when they've misjudged the delivery. The batsmen can't time their shots. Fast bowlers bend their back and get absolutely nothing from the pitch.

So you've got spinners who've no good length because batsmen can play back. The ball does grip and turn (that's the nature of these pitches, the ball grips so much it loses pace off the pitch) but it's too slow as I say with there being no good length and batsmen being able to play back so much you have to dart it in to beat the bat ie bowl quicker cutters or darts.

The pitch basically nullifies all bowling threat, except for medium pacers or darters. But it nullifies quality stroke-play the ball isn't timed.

So you get a bit of a stalemate and your slogger types become more important because a) you need power to get the ball off the square and b) you don't really need batting technique because it's easy to survive. Allied with the mediums and darters and you've got the reasons why slow and low pitches negate quality and produce poor spectacles.

[Prince EWS]

Originally Posted by shivfan

I'm tired of watching 20/20 matches where batsmen slaughter hapless bowlers....

Give me pitches that offer some assistance to bowlers for a change.

Agreed. T20s on bowler-friendly surfaces make for great contests.

These (or at least the ones we've seen in the Carribean of late - I'm not going to judge the pitches for this tournament until I've seen them) aren't really bowler-friendly though; they're just batsman-unfriendly. They don't make it easier to bowl genuinely wicket-taking balls; they just make it a lot harder for natural strokeplay. That's not a good thing.

[Faisal1985]

Originally Posted by Scaly piscine

Slow and low pitches make it very difficult to attack. Edges don't carry. The batsmen have time to adjust when they've misjudged the delivery. The batsmen can't time their shots. Fast bowlers bend their back and get absolutely nothing from the pitch.

So you've got spinners who've no good length because batsmen can play back. The ball does grip and turn (that's the nature of these pitches, the ball grips so much it loses pace off the pitch) but it's too slow as I say with there being no good length and batsmen being able to play back so much you have to dart it in to beat the bat ie bowl quicker cutters or darts.

The pitch basically nullifies all bowling threat, except for medium pacers or darters. But it nullifies quality stroke-play the ball isn't timed.

So you get a bit of a stalemate and your slogger types become more important because a) you need power to get the ball off the square and b) you don't really need batting technique because it's easy to survive. Allied with the mediums and darters and you've got the reasons why slow and low pitches negate quality and produce poor spectacles.

Good Bowlers bend their back and can still get a lot out of the pitch. Same thing goes with spin bowling. If you have variety you can threaten any batsman with deception and variety. To me, you just have to have the tools to tackle any situation. That is international cricket to me. Only the domestic boys complain about this type of stuff. You play int'l level cricket, well train to deal with all conditions.

[Scaly piscine]

Originally Posted by Faisal1985

Good Bowlers bend their back and can still get a lot out of the pitch. Same thing goes with spin bowling. If you have variety you can threaten any batsman with deception and variety. To me, you just have to have the tools to tackle any situation. That is international cricket to me. Only the domestic boys complain about this type of stuff. You play int'l level cricket, well train to deal with all conditions.

Watch a few games and you'll soon think otherwise.

I watched a lot of horlicks of the 50 over World Cup in the West Indies. It was turgid garbage for the most part because of these sorts of pitches.

[tooextracool]

Originally Posted by Faisal1985

Good Bowlers bend their back and can still get a lot out of the pitch. Same thing goes with spin bowling. If you have variety you can threaten any batsman with deception and variety. To me, you just have to have the tools to tackle any situation. That is international cricket to me. Only the domestic boys complain about this type of stuff. You play int'l level cricket, well train to deal with all conditions.

Dont think it has anything to do with the players, good players will adapt. The point is that T20 was created with the intention that it would be a game where bat dominates ball and we see plenty of sixes. Whether you and I like it or not is irrelevant, the bottom line is that thats what attracts large crowds. As things stand for the moment, this is a poor advertisement for the game.

[Faisal1985]

I wouldn't call the thriller just ended (SL vs NZ) a boring game, even though, relatively, it had a lower amount of the so called bat dominating the ball.

In any case, i would enjoy it irrespective of the pitches. Both team play on the same pitch. As long as its not way too below standard.

[Cevno]

The NZ vs Srilanka match was great.

It become monotonous and bowing to see slam bam hitting all the time ,even in t20 cricket .So a bit variation in the pitch is welcome ,specially if there is not a distinct advantage with the toss.

[Faisal1985]

Originally Posted by Cevno

The NZ vs Srilanka match was great.

It become monotonous and bowing to see slam bam hitting all the time ,even in t20 cricket .So a bit variation in the pitch is welcome ,specially if there is not a distinct advantage with the toss.

Right on. Fair play is what makes the game better. Pitch conditions remain more or less the same in T20s for both teams. So, read the pitch and equip yourself with those who are specialists to bowl/bat on those pitches.

[James]

Is one option playing T20 matches on artificial pitches? Let's be honest, most fans go to T20 matches wanting to see big hits and lots of runs. Not low scores.

I personally don't mind at all however and think the warm-ups games looked close and very interesting, but think perhaps artificial pitches would be popular with a lot of people.

[Athlai]

I didn't get to see the NZ-SL match but it sounds like pretty top viewing. I like an even contest between bat and ball and prefer matches where 140-160 is par instead of 170-190. Love it having a bit in it for the bowler, but obviously too much for the bowler is as bad as a total road.

[Top_Cat]

Originally Posted by Prince EWS

These (or at least the ones we've seen in the Carribean of late - I'm not going to judge the pitches for this tournament until I've seen them) aren't really bowler-friendly though; they're just batsman-unfriendly. They don't make it easier to bowl genuinely wicket-taking balls; they just make it a lot harder for natural strokeplay. That's not a good thing.

Yep, spot on. They don't enhance, only hamper. They make batting hard but give the bowlers nothing too.

The two first games were fairly low scoring; when a batting line-up like the WI can only score 130-odd against Ireland......

[AaronK]

I have a feeling that this world cup may not be as entertaining as the two previous once..

the pitches are going to be the main reason for this diseaster..

I wonder why tournments like this doesn't take place in places like Aus.. they always make quality pitches there..