debut: 3/5/03 7:00 PM
9,995 runs
As the West Indies cricket team’s batting folded against Nepal on September 27, it was apparent that the batsmen had no idea how to chase a total in T20 cricket. I mean, no idea. It was an average total of 148/8 by the Nepalese batsmen, delivered in the 20-over allocation against a full member International Cricket Council team.
Nepal are ranked 18th in the ICC T20I ratings. Thus, with that target to achieve in order to win the first game of a three-match series, one would think that it would be a cinch. However, especially in the game of cricket, regardless of format, nothing can be taken for granted.
The batting approach was careless and irresponsible, with players seemingly assuming that this target would be easy, that even if a batsman failed, another would easily build on the score. When this happens, by the time the fourth wicket tumbles, the task becomes formidable. While there is always an element of risk that batsmen must take, particularly in the T20 format, batsmen must balance the target with the number of wickets in hand, as well as the thinking required to know when to accelerate and how to combine this with the necessary percentage of risk.
I have seen the best player in this format, Kieron Pollard, play circumspectly, ensuring not to carelessly give away his wicket so that by the time the 15th or 16th over arrives and he has the pace of the wicket, ‘his eye is in’, he then has the right idea of how to accomplish the goal his opponent has set him, conversely, if batting first, the total to achieve to provide a daunting objective for his competitor.
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