What sort of batting partner do you like?

Sat, Sep 27, '14

In a team sport of individual performances, the batting partnership is possibly the closest relationship in the game. Yes, the swing bowler relies on his slips to hold their catches, and the spinner needs his keeper to whip off the bails when he has drawn his prey from the crease (picture Shane Warne with Adam Gilchrist, both chirping at a batsman scrabbling around for survival), and bowling well in tandem with your partner can keep the pressure on both ends, and thus force mistakes at either.

For the batsman, the wicket is a lonely stage when 11 of your fellow actors don't want you to be there, and the umpire is only a cold arbiter waiting to dismiss you from play.