THE SPINNING WEB

Spin was always going to be a big factor in this World Cup and some of the warm up games bear testament to that fact. On the first two days of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 we had witnessed mismatches which resulted in one sided contests. However, today we saw the Zimbabwean bowlers really giving the Australian batsmen a hard time at Ahmedabad. How did that happen? Were the Zimbabweans very good or the Australian batsmen faltered in their approach?

In my opinion the answer to the last question is a bit of both. While the Zimbabwean bowlers bowled very well, one would expect the Australian batsman to dominate proceedings simply because of their class and ability. Zimbabwe went into the game with just two seam bowlers namely Mpofu and Chigumbura. Mpofu bowled well picking up two wickets but got tapped at the end of the innings. However, when he bowled with the new ball and in the middle overs he was in control. He was mixing it up well, the Yorkers, the slower ones, the off cutters etc. For their games to come Zimbabwe need somebody to support Mpofu. With Ed Rainsford ruled out due to injury, they need a fast bowler to complement Mpofu’s good work. Chigumbura bowled just two overs today and didn't seem to get his line right. They may have opened with the spinners at the other end but when they will be up against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, it would be a good idea to do so. This is simply because the Sri Lankan and Pakistani batsmen are much better players of spin than the Australians. If they open with the spinner it may work against them as these batsmen may take a liking to him and hit him all over the park.


The thing that struck me the most about Mpofu was his fielding. He was very quick and has a very strong arm. His direct hit from the deep that got rid of Ricky Ponting was simply amazing. If Zimbabwe are to impress in this tournament, Mpofu is one of their keys. Overall, the Zimbabwean fielding was very good. They would have easily saved around 20-30 runs.

Mpofu’s new ball partner wasn’t Chigumbura but Raymond Price. I felt it was very good move given the Australian batsmen’s recent discomfort in playing spin. As pointed out by Sourav Ganguly, Price wasn’t getting turn but was merely angling it in to the batsmen. The angle was very good as the batsmen were not able to play him through the off side. Watson and Haddin were satisfied to block and push for the singles. Haddin is a very good player of fast bowling and it looked like Zimbabwe were prepared to bowl spin upfront to restrict the flow of runs from his bat. His innings was very bizarre given the fact that he is required to push the tempo. Watson also didn’t look all that comfortable playing spin initially and it was only later on that he took the initiative and attacked the bowling.

As pointed out by Ganguly and Dermott Reeve in the mid innings break, the openers should have shown more intent. Ganguly, who was one of the best players of spin, pointed out that many times it isn’t the number of runs you make against the spinners but the intent that you show that wins you the battle. The Australian openers did not show any intent to attack the spinners. They did not try anything different to score more runs. The experts also said that they could have tried to sweep Price or hit him over mid wicket as he wasn’t spinning the ball away but was just angling it into their bodies. The best example to play spinners early on was set by the Sehwag and Tendulkar the other day against Bangladesh. They did not let the spinners settled at any stage. Even when Shakib Al Hasan introduced the spinner in the early overs, Sachin was quick to charge and hit him over mid wicket. What this does is that it gets the bowler thinking. It makes him contemplate a new plan of attack and in a way unsettles him. Australians can take a leaf out of Ganguly's book and change their approach towards spin in the games to come.

Zimbabwe may not have won the game today but they have really played well. They bowled very well but their batting was disappointing. When you look at their batting line up you will see there is a lot of talent. Taylor, Taibu, Coventry, Chigumbura, Williams and company are all talented players. One of them has to play the sheet anchor role and the other batsmen would have to bat around him. The best man for this job in my opinion is Brendan Taylor. If he can stay in the middle for substantial time and if the other batsmen support him then Zimbabwe can certainly improve on their performance. Taylor looked good today but was cleaned up by a quick Shaun Tait. His role in the batting line-up is crucial. They were up against the best fast bowling attack in the world but given their talent they could have performed a lot better.

Despite losing Zimbabwe have set an example to the minnows and the strong teams. The example that they have set for the minnows is that if they can back themselves, try to use the oppositions weakness and use their own strengths then they can put up a spirited performance. The message they have sent to the strong teams is that opening the bowling with a spinner against Australia isn’t a bad idea. If I was the captain of Sri Lanka, Pakistan or New Zealand I would be considering starting with a spinner. Sri Lanka can start with either Mendis or Muralitharan, Pakistan have Ajmal and New Zealand can use Nathan McCullum. If these bowlers can trouble the openers early on, it would be great for the their respective teams. Something to ponder about for Sangakkara, Afridi and Vettori.

For the next two days we have mismatches with England versus Netherlands today at Nagpur and Pakistan versus Kenya on Wednesday. I think England and Pakistan will sail through their contests but I want to see a much better performance from Kenya. Netherlands have one or two good players and if they can put up a fighting performance, it will do their cause at the minnow participation debate no harm. Expect Ten Doeschate to shine in the England Netherlands game tomorrow. If he does, the Kolkata Knight Riders camp would be really happy.