Bumper war?

Thursday clash between Australia and the West Indies could turn into a bumper war. But West Indies medium-pacer Carlos Brathwaite says that with only two per over allowed, much of the teams’ fortunes will depend on the other four balls delivered per over

Australia and West Indies boast heavy artillery in the fast bowling department and both deployed it liberally in their opening seven-wicket victories against Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively. Brathwaite acknowledged that bouncers were a “preferred tactic” for West Indies, but he emphasised the importance of the balls that bracket them, the spaces in between.

Carlos Brathwaite during a training session at the World Cup.

“Obviously we’ve been hearing the talk of bouncer this and bouncer that but it’s always been a part of cricket. Probably it’s come to the fore a bit because the pitches will take the bouncer and only four fielders out, so the bowlers need to find something and obviously no one likes a ball 140-145 Ks at your head. So that’s why the bouncer has been the favourite tactic thus far.

“But you can only bowl two an over and the other four you have to be spot on and I think, as much as it was mentioned against Pakistan about our bouncers, I think those are the four balls in the over if you use them quite well. Up front Jase and Sheldon tried to swing it and myself and Russell tried to hit our lengths and then the bouncer became a surprise, probably even a dot ball option, so whilst it is obviously the preferred tactic, the most important thing is the balls that accompany, the other four balls in the over.

“We may get early wickets, we may not. When do we use the bumper? How regularly do we use it? And how much will the effect of the pitch allow us to use the bouncer as well?”

As Sid Monga noted in his early analysis of short pitched bowling this World Cup, against Afghanistan, “Eighteen percent of balls delivered by Australia’s quicks were short, almost double the usual rate you see.”

West Indies demolished Pakistan with similar roughhouse tactics. Most notable was Andre Russell’s venomous three-over spell, of which 18 deliveries were short, that netted two wickets and conceded just four runs.

England tried it unsuccessfully against Pakistan, playing Mark Wood and Jofra Archer in the hope fast, short-pitch lightning could strike twice on the same ground against the same opponents but, as is often the case, while the high-risk high-reward tactic of bowling short did result in six wickets, it also allowed for a big score: Pakistan made 113 runs of their total score off 109 short balls.

Thursday’s match will be played on the same pitch that was used in that run-fest. Pitch 6, or the record pitch, as it’s often called after England’s 481 in last year’s ODI against Australia. But Brathwaite knows Australian batsmen are more likely to treat short, fast bowling like Vegemite on toast; a familiar meal.

“Traditionally they’ve grown up on fast bouncy tracks and there’s only two balls an over,” said Brathwaite. “And it’s a mental game. If that bouncer can get into their head and allow our other four balls in that over to be perfectly executed or you know give us a bigger margin for error then perfect.

“If not then we have to find another strategy but yes, we do expect Australia to play it better than Pakistan. However we need to be better at our other four balls as well because everyone knows what’s coming and it’s about execution versus execution.

“We may get early wickets, we may not. When do we use the bumper? How regularly do we use it? And how much will the effect of the pitch allow us to use the bouncer as well?”

But while Australia’s batsmen may be more accustomed to facing the heat, Brathwaite suggested that familiarity could occasionally breed contempt.

“Some batsmen are traditionally good, some batsmen traditionally not so much,” said Brathwaite. “But there’s a saying in the Caribbean that people that can’t swim don’t drown. So maybe the person that can play the short ball better may be more susceptible and the ones that are more expectant of it may be more wary and, as a result, not take it on so much.”