The Art of Bowling in T20 cricket (international)

[War]

Having watched the opening T20 games of the current AUS to SRI, along with observing T20 mainly internationally since the 2007 T20 World Cup and the IPL, big bash, county T20s in England - i have noticed that teams bowling tactics are so dumb.

Bowling in a T20 really is just like bowling in the final 10 overs of a 50 overs game. In those last 10 overs teams use bowlers (mainly quick bowlers) to bowl block-hole death bowling, along with other various i.e slower balls, slower-bumper in a effort to keep the runs down (if you can bowl the latter 3). This works 80 - 90%.

But over the last 4 years i dont see teams doing that well enough at all. They bowl wayyyyy to much length balls in the T20 overs. I have lost count of the amount of times i watch games at the back-end of T20 and i cant help but scream "BOWL YORKERS FOOL", as batsmen hit length bowling to all parts.

Of course its not possible to bowl 20 overs straight death/block-hole bowling, given in the first 6 power-play overs, its fairly difficult to bowl yorkers consistently with the new-white ball.

However after those 6 overs have ended teams and ball gets roughed up, the next 14 overs should be 100% death bowling. But quick bowlers dont do that.

The only 3 bowlers (quick bowlers) who i see do that well enough are Malinga, Gul, Nannes over the last 4 years. But no team has ever had a quick bowling group attempting to bowl this from both ends to date.

No batsmen in the world can score freely off accurate yorker bowling. Only the "Dilshan scoop" over the keeper and short fine-leg which only Dilshan and McCullum have mastered in world cricket can disrupt that line of bowling. So for me its very puzzling why international bowlers are trying harder to perfect their death bowling skills so that they can execute it in T20 matches consistently.

Thoughts???....

 

[sifter132]

Thoughts...it's way easier to bowl yorkers on paper than in a game. I'd say they are probably the most difficult ball to bowl on demand. Brett Lee seems to be an example, sometimes he'll bowl an over with 3-4 good yorkers, and other times he'll deal out an over of full tosses - or worse the occasional beamer. Nathan Bracken was plagued by the same problem at the end of his career, too many astray yorkers became full tosses.

The other thing is that things like the Dilscoop would become way more frequently played if yorkers became the stock ball.

But yes, DEFINTELY agree that more yorkers should be attempted, but they'll never be the stock ball because they are too risky for bowlers. If you are feeling the yorker groove, then sure keep firing them in until the batsman deals with them.

The thing I think needs to happen more in T20 is matchup bowling, a bit like in baseball with left and right handed pitchers who play in certain situations. Have as many bowling options as you can, 6 or 7 in your team, and bowl whoever has an advantageous matchup against the current batsmen. Eg if Keiron Pollard is batting, DON'T bowl Moises Henriques...

 

[sami ullah khan]

World cricket is currently facing a dearth of genuinely quick bowlers. I have always believed that those sort of bowler have more effective yorkers than general military medium that is so abundant. Sadly, we have no more Wasims, Waqars, and Akhtars to bowl those hellish toe crushers.

 

[AngryPixel]

There were some great fast bowlers outside Pakistan too sami. Don't forget the menacing duo of Ambrose and Walsh. Bond is right up there when it comes to bowling toe crushing yorkers.

 

[Aoun13]

There is still one Pakistani bowler who is atleast very good in T20s and known for his yorkers "Umer Gul". It is not easy to bowl 5/6 bowls as a yorker so most of the bowlers try to bowl length balls to save them from extra runs which they might hit for if they make a yorker a "full toss".

 

[cricket_icon]

Yorkers are crucial in T20s, but only if you have decent pace, Gul and Mlainga are the only 2 guys at the moment who seem to be bale to do that. Steyn has often disappointed me in limited overs cricket but he is starting to improve.

I believe spinners have been used very well by some teams in T20 cricket, Ajmal being a great inclusion to the Pakistan side. Bishoo and Swann have also done well as have a few of the Bangladeshi spinners, though not match winners, they are at least better than their "pace" counter parts.

 

[sami ullah khan]

There were some great fast bowlers outside Pakistan too sami. Don't forget the menacing duo of Ambrose and Walsh. Bond is right up there when it comes to bowling toe crushing yorkers.

Yeah I know. But when it came to bowling yorkers, those were names that popped right up in my head. I am an avid fan of fast bowling and relish the opportunity to watch genuine quickies irrespective of their nationality.

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@send2yaari
Gul is far too inconsistent and does not know his own strengths.

 

[mohit_dude10]

Bowling yorkers isn't the easiest job, I think most bowlers refrain from bowling yorkers as they might bowl a full toss. In T20 though it really depends on that particular day what is going for you as a bowler, its just too unpredictable, who would've though a bowler like Arul Suppiah would have the best figures ever in t20 cricket?

 

[Aoun13]

@send2yaari
Gul is far too inconsistent and does not know his own strengths.

inconsistent in t20s? He is not, he is the most consistent T20 bowler.

 

[sami ullah khan]

Gul has been poor in T20s too lately. He was hit for 24 runs in one over by some Kiwi Batsman (may be Mcglashan). He was reverse swept for six iirc. Gul needs to sort out a lot of things.

 

[AngryPixel]

Yeah I know. But when it came to bowling yorkers, those were names that popped right up in my head. I am an avid fan of fast bowling and relish the opportunity to watch genuine quickies irrespective of their nationality.
.

True. When i think about yorkers, Image of Waqar and Akram castling the batsmen immediately came to mind.

 

[angryangy]

I believe spinners have been used very well by some* teams in T20 cricket

*the vast majority of

 

[Rehan_24]

Well in my view, Bowling in the last 10 overs in a fifty over game is a completly different thing compared to T-20 bowling as the ball condition is different in both formats. As far as reverse swing is concerned, You have to work out on the ball, Shine one side and keep the other side dusted, You can't bowl reverse swinging yorkers straight away. Even its very hard to bowl simple yorkers right away, however exceptions are always there like Gul and Malinga, Haven't noticed Nannes much in T-20 format.

However, I do agree that there should be atleast variation in the bowling in T-20 and that should be also be very frequently, Length Balls will definitely go for sixes, but in nut-shell You cant do much as a bowler in T-20. I don't call it a quality cricket. Its just an entertainment bang bang bang, No Quality,Gracefulness and class at all....

 

[bobby210]

BOwling yorkers is hard and esay to put away if you know what to expect. Only swinging yorkers are good. Which explains Malinga in a nutshell. But would you have a large scoring match or a low scoring match. It is more fun when the batsmen hit the ball

 

[Aussie Team]

They should be a range of different lines, lengths combined with some changes of pace. You know how hard it is to get line and length right, but with practice you can come up with some dependable changes. In many causes, yorkers have ended up being full-tosses. If you can bowl a yorker, if you have variation to surprise the batsman, your rapid pace will actually come in handy.