438: a massive anomaly, a score that was considered so vastly out of the realms of normality, it was acknowledged as a once in a lifetime chase and those who witnessed it at the Wanderers on the 12th March 2006 believed that an aggregate score of 872 would never be achieved again.
Fast forward nine years to 2015, and while such aggregates have yet to be surpassed, scores in excess of 300 have become the norm and in fact, are almost an expectation. Amassing totals of between 250-270 (which were once considered highly defendable) will afford a team only a slim chance of victory and one could confidently place a bet on a chasing side reaching their target with ease. In the recently concluded Cricket World Cup, it was a common occurrence to hear commentators state, “they will require at least 300 here”, as anything less would be a significant challenge for their bowlers to defend.
Sure, there were some riveting bowling spells at the World Cup, most notably Wahab Riaz’s terrorising of Shane Watson and Mitchell Starc’s almost single-handed destruction of the New Zealanders in the group stage, but the batting brilliance on display certainly overshadowed it. With 28 scores in excess of 300 and four in excess of 400, this World Cup certainly proved that the days of bowler dominance were firmly entrenched in the past. Economy figures rose to numbers only seen in T20 matches and most viewers felt sympathetic towards the bowler’s plight of being dismantled by numerous talented batsmen.
What can be attributed to this surge in dominance? Why are even the best bowlers powerless to stop the attack of the ferocious batsmen? Some of the blame lies in the 2012 change in playing conditions where only four fielders are allowed outside the ring instead of the previous five. While one fielder fewer may seem a minimal change, there are more gaps to exploit and the batsman has an easier task in imposing himself on the bowler. Indeed, even one of the world’s best Dale Steyn has stated that “it’s tough to be a bowler. All the rules are against us.” On the evidence of recent statistics, you would have to acknowledge his comments are irrefutably true.
A mere sixteen years ago, in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, the contest between bat and ball was so much more intriguing. One of the greatest ODI matches in history, the infamous semi-final between Australia and South Africa, involved a chase of only 213. Nowadays, it wouldn’t be much of a competition if a team posted such a total and the chasing side would generally cruise to victory barring an exceptional bowling effort. And with those shorter boundaries and larger bats, the bowlers’ task of removing batsmen looks more and more challenging as we head into the era of modern cricket.
An important new development to note when considering the superior role of batsmen in this era is the introduction of International T20 Cricket, which began in 2005. With such a limited number of overs, batsmen are forced to accelerate right from the start and being exposed to this format so regularly both with their national teams and in entertaining tournaments such as the IPL and the Big Bash has perhaps made them impart this style of their batting to the longer forms of the game. Of course, most batsmen know fully well how to pace their innings according to what the situation requires, but strike rates of under 80 are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Even a well-known anchor like Hashim Amla is often seen removing the shackles in certain games and has a strike rate of 89.92 in ODIs, one which would not be usually associated with an opener in the recent past.
Perhaps it is fitting then that the World Cup Final consisted of a low total of just 183—a throwback to the old times when such totals were accumulated. The ease with which Australia chased it though, proved that, currently, such totals can only be the result of epic batting collapses or startlingly perfect bowling spells, and that in this day and age, any score under 200 is virtually impossible to defend.
Over the decades, ODI Cricket has definitely transformed fully into a batsman’s game and as the years go by, it only seems to be becoming more of a paradise for them.
