Cricket batting order...

[IrishOpener]

Me and some people on an Irish cricket forum were trying to discuss the Irish batting order and we thought Ed Joyce should open but people are under the impression in cricket your best batsman is meant to come out at no.3,

is this true or what do people think about this?, it's often the case,

Australia - Ponting,
England - Trott,
Ireland - Joyce,
South Africa - Kallis,
India - Sachin...

 

[vcs]

I don't think there's a hard and fast rule on this.. a lot depends on where your best batsman feels comfortable batting as well. As a general rule though, in limited overs formats, the best batsman should bat no lower than 3.

 

[Jono]

Sachin doesn't come in at 3. He comes in at 4 and opens in ODIs, and even when he doesn't open in ODIs he's come in at 4.

Lara came in at 4.

Steve Waugh was the best batsman for Australia for a long time and often came in at 5.

 

[IrishOpener]

I just thought other fans would have a different idea behind this but in the end I think it depends on the situation your team is in,,,

 

[Hurricane]

Bradman batted 3 and set a standard that the best batsman should be in that position.

Talking test matches - I reckon if you are the team's top batsman you should either be 3 or 4 to maximise your time at the crease and avoid exposure to the new ball.

I would prefer to see Sachin at 3 than 4. I was surprised to see that according to statsguru he has never batted at 3.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Sachin doesn't come in at 3. He comes in at 4 and opens in ODIs, and even when he doesn't open in ODIs he's come in at 4.

Lara came in at 4.

Steve Waugh was the best batsman for Australia for a long time and often came in at 5.

Border before him too. Few games @ #3, but mostly in the engine room and he was Australia's best batsman for the majority of his career.

EDIT: Ditto Thorpey for us. Vast majority of his career at number 5 and he was a class above his contemporaries.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah, it's a case-by-case thing and more to do with the team balance than the type of batter they are but generally your best bat is at number 3. In the absence of Dravid, reckon Sachin might have batted at 3 at some stage.

 

[cnerd123]

In the absence of Dravid and Laxman, maybe.

Depends on the player himself too. Dravid and Laxman were always the sorts who played swing and pace quite well, it would make sense to send them a spot above Sachin. Partly because they ran less of a risk of getting out early due to their style of play, and partly to shield Sachn against the hardest part of an innings. Sachin could walk in when the ball was softer, and would be less prone to falling early and thus more likely to cash in.

In ODIs it worked differently - Sachin was more or less the most destructive batsman in the side, along with Ganguly/Sehwag, and thus you used them to cash in on the field restrictions or to get you off to flying starts in pursuit of big totals. Dravid once again could walk in at three and build the innings.


As a general rule, never have your best batsman batting lower than number 5, unless you need him to bowl quite a bit as well. And as much as possible, keep him at either 3 or 4.
Also general rules would be to have two contrasting openers (left hand/right hand, aggressive/defensive, etc), to have specialist openers as much as possible, and to stick your big hitters lower down the order and promote them up as pinch-hitters if needed.

 

[marc71178]

I would prefer to see Sachin at 3 than 4. I was surprised to see that according to statsguru he has never batted at 3.

A lot of the time in his career the strength of India's openers has meant 3 was in effect an opener so 4 was in effect 3.

 

[Jono]

Haha thats so true.

 

[Himannv]

Have always felt that opening should be a specialist role, specially in the longer format of the game. Someone who can see off the new ball and play swing and pace reasonably well.

As for the number three, I think the player should have similar skills to the opener but should be able to play spin as well. The number three slot is both about consolidation and partnership building so I think a batsman with those set of skills should bat there. I dont feel he necessarily needs to be the best batsman in the team though.