Your Cricket Is it more of an advantage as a batsman being small or tall?

[SciD]

Wouldn't it be easier to hit taller batsman as they are a bigger target?

The ball that will take head off short guy sits up nicely to be whacked out of ground for tall guys. Pitches in India don't bounce that much.

Its better to bowl toe crushers to tall guys.

 

[punterpupnroy]

Most small batters are good, but yes some batting legends are tall. Look at Gilchrist he pretty tall and he can hit the ball a mile. But the other players such as Ponting, Lara, and Tendulkar i reckon are still able to pull coz most smaller players have a high backlift. Lara's is basically over his head.

 

[angryangy]

It just depends how you play, how well your game fits you. Hayden has only been done lbw 5 times in his ODI career. That's a direct result not of his height, but of his reach. Hayden often bats out of his crease and he stretches well forward on the front foot. His figure obscures the stumps and it becomes difficult for an umpire to judge where the ball would be at the crease.

Nevertheless, of the top ten Test run scorers, the tallest is Gooch at 6 ft.

I suppose we're dealing with a complex sample, because of the variance of height as brought on by genetics. Only two members of the Australian Test team are below 180 cm (in truth, the team is tall compared to the population; Clarke and Ponting are average height for Australian males).

Comparatively, the average height of Indian males is 165 cm. Again, you'd figure the team is taller on the whole, but is their best batsman taller than or shorter than the average height?

 

[Cricketdude]

Wouldn't it be easier to hit taller batsman as they are a bigger target?

No it wouldnt as their heads are close to the top of the stumps so you dont really need a bouncer to get someone retired hurt.

 

[ivanvdm15]

Kallis is a tall man and hes one of the best....

 

[Leggie]

Although I am a number 11, I don't find bouncers particularly hard to play, I just stand on my back foot and put my bat in front. I struggle more against the yorkers as I really have to get down, I am the best at playing bouncers in my team because of height, everyone else just stuggles...

 

[King Pietersen]

I don't think height's a massive problem. Pietersen's 6ft4, Hayden's 6ft2, Vaughan's 6ft2, Fleming's tall, you've got 2meter Peter Fulton, this proves that to be a top player you don't have to be short. Height normally means power for these guys aswell, so the taller guys are normally the power hitters. You get some top quality smaller guys, but i don't think height's massively important when determining how good a player is.

 

[SciD]

Tall guys are good for pull and hook. But most bowlers are not dumb to be bowling short all the time. The short batsman for some technical reason (im no batsman) play drives, flicks and cuts better than taller guys and hence they are best batsman around cos 95% of balls wont take your head off.

Although I am a number 11.

 

[King Pietersen]

Tall guys are good for pull and hook. But most bowlers are not dumb to be bowling short all the time. The short batsman for some technical reason (im no batsman) play drives, flicks and cuts better than taller guys and hence they are best batsman around cos 95% of balls wont take your head off.

I don't think anyone drives better than Michael Vaughan, Flicks better than Stephen Fleming, but the cut is more of a shot guys shot though, Tendulkar has a fantastic cut. I don't think smaller guys are technically any better than taller guys, it's just a coincidence that there are so many good shorter players.

 

[SciD]

I don't think anyone drives better than Michael Vaughan, Flicks better than Stephen Fleming, but the cut is more of a shot guys shot though, Tendulkar has a fantastic cut. I don't think smaller guys are technically any better than taller guys, it's just a coincidence that there are so many good shorter players.

Agreed with Vaughan but Fleming. No way. Tendulkar fav shot is straight drive and backfoot cover drive. Cut is least preffered for him. Sehwag is only one who likes to cut in Indian team. To play flicks one need to have good wrists and noone in world has wrist as subcontinent players. Kallis has also learnt to play subcontinent way.

The reason tall guys look good driving is due to backlift. The one of best cover driver in business is Yuvraj Singh and he has high backlift. Hes classic example of tall player who loves to drive, pull and hook. But cant dug out toe crushers. Vaughan though is coaching manual player. He plays correct shots so they look elegant.

 

[Cricketman]

I don't think anyone drives better than Michael Vaughan, Flicks better than Stephen Fleming, but the cut is more of a shot guys shot though, Tendulkar has a fantastic cut. I don't think smaller guys are technically any better than taller guys, it's just a coincidence that there are so many good shorter players.

VVS Laxman

 

[shravi]

As a bowler, I'm more intimidated by tall batsman, and I'm 6ft1.

However, in professional cricket, if you have the talent, you'll make it. Pietersen is very tall and is hailed as one of the best batsmen of the modern era. Sachin is shorter than most yet is one of the best batsmen of all-time.

 

[vaibhav mehta]

Ya In international cricket hight doesn't matter..The only advantage for small batsman I can see thats They can dig out Breat lee's 150kmph yorker quicker than tall batsman..

 

[surendar]

Flicks better than Stephen Fleming

I assume, you haven't seen a single flick shot played by Md.Azharuddin. I am yet to see a player playing those flicks and making use of the wrist so greatly/fluently like Azhar.

I also don't believe in these height factors.. It's just the concentration matters whatsoever the incoming delivery is.