The Toss Factor

Batting first or bowling first, are the only two choices for a captain when he wins the toss. It seems quite easy to pick one of these two but a poor decision here will affect the result of the match.

Sometimes, the pitches are flat, have true bounce or they are simply batsman paradise. Now every captain after winning the toss will say I'll bat first but if there is some moisture in the track and it will behave in the same manner for the whole match then he can say ok we will bowl first and will chase whatever the target is. It seems to be a good decision as made by Pakistani Captain Saeed Anwar thrice in the Sri Lanka Pakistan ODI series which Sri Lanka won by 3-0. Sri Lanka is now the second team in the world to beat Pakistan 3-0 at their home soil following Australia.

Every captain would have decided to bowl first in the conditions mentioned above but when the captain says I'll bowl first then he has a lot of things in mind other than just the pitch condition and that is that can their team chase a respectable score. Pakistani team has earned a reputation of being the worst chasers (if not the worst, then one of the worst) since the World Cup 99, England. So, if Saeed said, we will chase that means that he has enough faith in his batting that they can chase a good score. He also mentioned a good point while opting to bowl first and that was the Sri Lankans are good chasers.

Going back to the World Cup 99, Wasim Akram in every match preferred to bat first although the team's batting was not performing well, but he said that I'll back my strength which is bowling and I'll like to defend whatever is set by our batsman. He maintained his habit not only in the World Cup but also after the tournament, till the Carlton & United Series, the last series in which Wasim captained the Pakistani team. Before the World Cup Final, there was a general opinion in Pakistan that Pakistan will win if they win the toss or simply if they bat first.

Saeed with the same bowing attack but with two youngsters replacing Ijaz and Inzi in the team opted to chase thrice which seemed to be quite stupid decision and it cost Pakistan the series and lots of humiliation.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic