Indian Domestic Circuit(-worma)
Just a thought that re-popped in my mind...following the recent Duleep trophy scores. Have been wondering in recent times...is it just my imagination or have the scores in our domestic matches been going down in recent times?
For example...observe the recently concluded Irani trophy scorecard. Or the Ranji semifinals and finals of last season...were not high-scoring if I remember? Or have a look at the Ranji averages from last season. Or of course the ongoing Duleep trophy matches.
Now there can be the following reasons...but these are more of questions to you guys..since this is just an *idea* in my mind rather than a firm *opinion*:
1) The quality of batting has gone down? Since VVS...who's really made tons of runs with double and triple tons in a domestic season?...
2) The quality of bowling, esp pace/seam/swing has gone up? Ofcourse this can also be supported by the fact that so many pacers are now lining up for the national cap.
3) Pitches have been livelier? And not just in pace but generally more livelier for bowlers(spin included) and not dead surfaces as in the past? For example...the North v East match seems to be helping pacers(atleast this report mentions a lively pitch?) while West v South seems to be lively for spinners on day 1!
4) All of these?
5) This is just a figment of my imagination...nothing of this sort happening...I need rest...and some quality cricket to recover? :-))
What do you guys think? Especially the ones following the domestic scene more closely?
For example...observe the recently concluded Irani trophy scorecard. Or the Ranji semifinals and finals of last season...were not high-scoring if I remember? Or have a look at the Ranji averages from last season. Or of course the ongoing Duleep trophy matches.
Now there can be the following reasons...but these are more of questions to you guys..since this is just an *idea* in my mind rather than a firm *opinion*:
1) The quality of batting has gone down? Since VVS...who's really made tons of runs with double and triple tons in a domestic season?...
2) The quality of bowling, esp pace/seam/swing has gone up? Ofcourse this can also be supported by the fact that so many pacers are now lining up for the national cap.
3) Pitches have been livelier? And not just in pace but generally more livelier for bowlers(spin included) and not dead surfaces as in the past? For example...the North v East match seems to be helping pacers(atleast this report mentions a lively pitch?) while West v South seems to be lively for spinners on day 1!
4) All of these?
5) This is just a figment of my imagination...nothing of this sort happening...I need rest...and some quality cricket to recover? :-))
What do you guys think? Especially the ones following the domestic scene more closely?
posted by worma at
12:01 PM
15 Comments:
i think definitely all of the above are reasonable factors - altho venugopal rao and dheeraj jadhav have been piling up the runs a bit ....
By
Gaurav, at 12:20
IMO, Its mainly the pitches. Indian batsman have not been great on pitches with a bit of bounce or lateral movement. So, all those batsmen who would otherwise have made tons of runs on the flat pitches struggle on these pitches. This is only a temporary phase, though. Sooner, batsmen who have the ability to tackle these new challenges will make a mark.
By
Toney, at 12:23
mayur...dont go by pitches for international games...they are made with 'other' factors in mind (in ODIs it has to be flat for lots of runs...supposed to mean more entertainment...and in test matches we make pitches to our strength..often on demand from captain etc...so thats diff story)
Those domestic highest scores...I thought the number of double tons were low (now I dont remember exactly how many double and triple tons it used to be..hence this open question)...and also some of those must have come against the really weak teams....so that cannot fit into either of the factors
By
worma, at 12:46
Read this article worma. You might have missed it in February.
Link:
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/wac/content/story/144537.html
Domestic Bliss on lively pitches.
By
Chandan, at 12:48
chandan...now that you posted it here and I visited...I do remember reading it....hmm..maybe thats where the idea got into my mind...and the recent scores brought it back. Thx for the link :-)
By
worma, at 12:53
mayur...I think your point is also valid...must be one of the contributing factors...that the change in format has helped the level of competition.
Although I wont guess about the time given for preperation of pitches for domestic games etc. Remember that its not in perview of BCCI...its regional boards...and some of them are doing good jobs in various aspects of cricket(getting good coaches is just one example)..they may be more serious with their pitch prep also.
By
worma, at 12:56
the article that Chandan forwarded says the pitch in Secunderabad is probably the bounciest one in the country. I am really curious to know how our senior players would deal with such pitches. Also, this is definitely the correct step, batsmen will improve their technique and the bridge between first class and intl cricket is bridged. Also, there'll be more youngsters who would look forward to develop as fast bowlers rather than spinners.
By
Toney, at 13:01
vick...you mean the format of Ranji trophy?..we just discussed that, and that article also mentions it...so yes...thats one factor. About the season...hasn't it always been played in winter?
btw...I'm just wondering what would be the impact of all this on our international game. Sure, as toney said, we can expect more batsman ready to pace bouncy pacy conditions. But I hope it wont affect their capability to play spin?
I wont pass judgment on the new players we have seen recently till I see them in test matches...because ODI is not exactly an indicator of technique.
Also...what about the new crop of spinners? Dont hear too many good spinners coming up? But then...if Powar and Bahutule are taking loads of wkts...cant complain...its just that i dont see them 'international' quality? (although Bahutule might once have been good enough)
By
worma, at 13:21
guys, completely unrelated question but could use some help.
On the blog, how does one link websites such that they open up in a new window (a la Prem), rather than opening up the webpage on the same window?
Any ideas anyone?
By
Jaunty Quicksand, at 13:30
Worma,
Piyush Chawla and Nadeem are great spin prospects too. Let us see how they shape up!
By
Chandan, at 13:34
jaunty...in the other comments thread ruchir just suggested edit html option to insert "target=top" in the post....actually more of a suggestion for himself and me ;-)..it seems prem is already doing it
chandan....mate I'm also very excited about Chawla's prospects...lets hope he comes up nicely in domestic games...and gets a look in next year or so
maher...not sure if we'll see such pitches in international matches...hasn't been the case in recent times(while domestic games were getting these helpful pitches)
By
worma, at 13:49
This is from today's Woolmer interview on cricinfo. I feel quite illiterate right now but what the hell does this mean? What comparison is he drawing between Lara and Tendulkar?
How would you evaluate your time so far here? Are you happy with the progress made with the national team?
It's like being with a child - you don't really know they are growing until you leave them and come back. There are certain things I see that I am very pleased with, in terms of attitude, commitment, training, work ethic in the nets. Some players are 180% fitter than they were from when we started. But essentially, like any coach, I try not to worry about results because for me results come if we get the process right. And the process is to make sure we are doing the right thing and training hard enough.
Hopefully, the results will come from that but you have to get those processes right. In a way you don't really notice whether you are improving or not. Sometimes, you play against a Tendulkar and it doesn't seem so tough but then you play against Lara in full flow as we did and it makes a difference, making it difficult to measure improvement. Individuals make these differences, they create tougher scenarios.
By
sid, at 13:49
sorry, pasting something from another section. It seemed more apt here...
The best ODI pitch I have seen in recent times (on TV) is the one on which Pak crushed India at Jamshedpur. Awesome bounce and carry for the pacers, nice true pitch for the batsmaen to play their shots. And good spinners had enough bounce to do their part. Hope we see similar pitches this time too. It'll be a treat to watch SRT play a few shots on such pitches.
I wonder, since the rains are over and summer is behind us, the outfields should be lush too. Definitely good cricket should follow.
By
Toney, at 14:05
but sahir thats not the case anymore....now we dont have underprepared pitches that turn from day 1 in domestic games...atleast not all. Rajkot is one example....and its not even wkt to wkt medium pacers only....seamers of all variety are doing well...no?
By
worma, at 14:57
santanu...can you tell us more about him(Santh)? Why did you think he was not impressive?..was it start of nets of was he in full steam?..generally..your impression of what you saw?...and not just about Santh.
By
worma, at 03:53
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