It is 40 years since I last watched live international or first-class cricket. But, in the last year or so, with retirement and thanks to kind invitations from friends I have enjoyed attending Hagley Oval, Christchurch to see the game played at the highest level.
My reaction? Bluntly, I have been blown away by the skill of the modern player. There might be some things one can’t abide like the god-awful blasting of triumphal music, the incessant stream of 12th and 13th man running on with water bottles, grounds with piddling short boundary ropes, appeals that the ball is out of shape, 10- ball wildcard strategic over and so on but you cannot but revere the athleticism and skill-set of today’s top players.
My reaction? Bluntly, I have been blown away by the skill of the modern player. There might be some things one can’t abide like the god-awful blasting of triumphal music, the incessant stream of 12th and 13th man running on with water bottles, grounds with piddling short boundary ropes, appeals that the ball is out of shape, 10- ball wildcard strategic over and so on but you cannot but revere the athleticism and skill-set of today’s top players.
Coaches strive to encourage their charges to express themselves in the middle. Those who can will quickly take the game away from the opposition. To be innovative, there needs to be a team culture that it is OK to experiment; and never to be afraid of making mistakes. Indeed, isn’t that how we learn! From the start of play with the new ball through to the back-end of an innings it is the innovative, expressive athletes who have an impact on the outcome of the match and ultimately get the edge over opponents.
In a recent television interview our greatest ever player, Sir Richard Hadlee, praised the “innovation” seen in the game today. He said that in his day they were never encouraged to play like that and if they did try these sort of things and got out then they would be dropped.
What is it that makes cricket special today?
Fielding
There is no place for a ponderous or inept fielder in the modern game. In the past, the roly-poly, “glass”-armed player could hide in the slips cordon; or the gangly, ungainly quick bowler could “rest” between overs at deep fine-leg. There is no such luxury evident today. If you can’t move and throw quickly and accurately in the field you are going to miss selection, no matter how well you might bat or bowl to compensate.
Yesterday’s men would choke in their beards to learn that the test players of today are wearing GPS vests and heart monitors to study a player’s speed, distance covered, heart rate and intensity of play to modify training volumes and regulate workload. Amazing!
Gone are the slips cradles and leisurely light warm-ups of bygone times. The attacking fielding skills seen nowadays are simply mind-boggling. Tight fielding units create on-field pressure. Rarely do you see a misfield. The sliding pick-up and throw, and the catch assist on the boundary just didn’t happen in our day.
As for the Tom Latham reactive catch from silly short-leg in March 2017 to dismiss a stunned Proteas captain; it left the cricket world reeling and we old boys shaking our heads in disbelief.
Bowling
The point of difference here simply is the ability of today’s top bowlers to bowl a range of different deliveries and to mix it up without compromising accuracy. Playing everywhere on such flat pitches, bowling plans are sophisticated and designed to exploit the frailties of certain batsmen. The best example from February 2017 was the ruthless way in which Trent Boult worked over the gutsy Bangladeshi captain (diminutive Mushfiqur Rahim), by attacking the rib-cage and splice of the bat. The accuracy of this onslaught was amazing and again in 2018, when Southee bounced Gayle out (second ball) at the Mount. Boult, Southee and co display versatility and ingenuity.
Among today’s challenges, bowlers need to quickly learn to handle being dispatched for 15+ runs per over (in white ball cricket) and then try to get the kookaburra balls to swing in tests. No wonder the sport psychologist is needed alongside the technical bowling specialist.
When you add developments in the modern game like: a greater use of slower balls, reverse swing, cross-seamers, “knuckle ball”, doosra, etc and the past-player is left in awe. Sit back and admire the innovative techniques on display at the bowling crease. Each season there seems a new delivery comes into our lexicon; the latest being the carrom ball which Ravi Ashwin has mastered. Mitchell Santner is working on the delivery too. In the shorter game the best bowlers are those who prevent the batsmen from getting under the ball or giving no width to get a full arc to strike.
Batting
In recent seasons we have been blessed by the stunning aggression from the likes of Guptill, Maxwell, Munro and co. Sure old-timers will hark back to 2002 and Nathan Astle’s world fastest test double century at the now dismantled Lancaster Park, Christchurch and other memorable feats. These men are freaks. United by exceptional free-scoring spirits, collectively they have perfected different shots which set them apart from their contemporaries. “Ramps”, “reverse”, “inside-out”, “switch hits” and other audacious shots highlight the best of the innovative and creative batting of today. Another exponent of sheer skill is Steve Smith and the way he can get back and across and whip balls effortlessly from outside off through midwicket. How do you bowl and set fields to counter that?
In my day, the senior players were on to the younger ones about “occupying the crease” so the common statistic was “time in the middle” which today has very much been replaced by “balls faced”.
Purists will derive equal pleasure from NZ’s leading centurions, Williamson and Taylor (with 35 test centuries between them). These two do exactly as every great batsmen has ever done; namely, hit the ball through gaps, use soft hands, and punish anything loose. But what sets them apart; they don’t just talk about “going on to score big” but actually do it (with greater regularity than anyone else in the history of the NZ game).
Demeanour
Since the tragic death of Phillip Hughes in 2014, we have had in McCullum and Williamson, two captains who want the national team to play cricket in the right spirit. So in recent series, improved player behaviour has been apparent. The only dodgy thing which seemed to stir up the cricketers in 2017 was the apparent deliberate practice of bouncing in returns onto the abrasive pitch surrounds to scuff the ball for reverse swing. We had never heard of such a thing in my day. Love-it or hate-it DRS has taken the heat out of on-field exchanges but credit must also be attributed to coaches and the players themselves.
Every primary-aged cricketer watching will join their grandparents in saluting the millennial player; the younger ones will strive to be like them when they play