Shane Bond calls limited overs cricket 'a batsman's game'

Former New Zealand international Shane Bond came in defense of the bowlers in the cricketing scenario and has said that batsmen always have the edge over the bowlers in limited over cricket.

Labeling white ball cricket as a game for the batsmen the former speedster claimed that the conditions always tend to favor the batters. Bond made this statement while writing for The International Cricket Council (ICC) prior to the Champions Trophy which is all set to get underway from 1^st June.

“Bowlers are pretty much second-class citizens in white-ball cricket,” said Shane Bond, one of the fiercest fast bowlers during his time.

Bond, who has been the bowling coach of the victorious Mumbai Indians side in the IPL which ended a few days ago admitted to the fact that the change in fielding restrictions in the last 10 overs of an ODI match is a relief for the bowlers, even if it is not much.

“And it isn’t merely the fast bowlers, who have their task cut out. The change in fielding restrictions in the last 10 overs of a one-day international has eased the pressure on the bowlers a little bit, but only a little bit,” “…but for the most part, the bowlers are pretty much second-class citizens in white-ball cricket,” he added.

The 41-year-old also said that this inclination towards batsmen has resulted in spinners taking up negative tactics against their will.

“The slow bowlers specifically are resorting to a more negative line of bowling, not because they want to but because they have to,” he said.

“In an era gone by, the pattern was to tee-off in the first 15 overs, build through the middle of the innings and then launch a final onslaught. That philosophy has now gone out the window,” explained the bowler.

Shane Bond’s advice:

According to Shane Bond, the bowlers of the current generation will have to deal with their bowling intelligently and bring in a lot of variety in it. They need to experiment with different kind of deliveries to perform well in the present situation where every match becomes a high scoring affair.

“The yorker is not just one of the most difficult balls to bowl, the margin for error is also extremely small. Therefore, it becomes vital to use that weapon judiciously.

“You must have the ability to change the length – bowl the yorker, yes, but also use the bouncer, the slower ball, the length ball,” he said.

“You don’t bowl the full ball to certain batsmen, you don’t bang it in to certain others. All of it is very much opposition, ground, conditions and batter-dependent. If you are off even marginally, the yorker is probably the easiest ball to hit for a four or a six. You have to weigh up risk against reward,” added Bond.

He also gave a success tip for the quickies as he said one needs to have the ability to mix up his deliveries and not allow the batsman to get used to the conditions.

“As a bowler, you must be prepared to bowl different lengths at the death so that when you do bowl the yorker, it must come as a little bit of a surprise.

“I keep telling the bowlers to not be shy of bowling a bouncer, to have a field that creates doubt. At the end of the day, it not so much about the outcome; it is important to see how the bowlers have got their wickets at the death,” he said.

Shane Bond signed off with a tricky praise for David Warner and Virat Kohli by asking “What do you do when a David Warner or a Virat Kohli comes hard at you?”.