Bowling Aggresively Produces Wickets

Most often cricket writers would pen about batsmen and batting records, feats and styles. Bowling though equally important somehow does not evoke the same emotive responses from cricket writers or fans. Modern cricket however has pushed this aspect of the game to the forefront and at present bowlers are getting a fair share of ink.

The abbreviated forms of the game has required bowlers to push a negative line till the T 20 style was introduced. This format does not afford the bowlers the luxury of negative lines or length.

You miss I hit, is the present style of bowling at the T 20 format. The fifty overs did give a bowler ten overs to fling and very often as the circumstances decided many resorted to defensive lines and lengths.

This was not always so in the past. The formative years saw bowlers trying to get wickets but with conditions of wickets improving this was to change.

Test cricket which to me is yet the purest form always allowed the bowlers to be aggressive as the batsmen had ample time to settle in and many factors contribute to a long occupation at the crease. A big first innings total becomes a pre requisite.

Bowlers were always aggressive in this format. Its all about studying the strengths and weaknesses of a batsman and either tying him up, luring him to an injudicious stroke or simply beating the bat.

Aggressive bowling

It has been a treat to watch aggressive bowling by the fast men. The crowds love it. They are a captain’s dream. However they can bowl a limited spell at a time. Its even more enjoyable when a top quality spinner is aggressive.

This aggression takes a different form and is more subtle to the viewers. The spinners can bowl a longer spell and when they operate in complementing pairs it is a treat to watch.

Bowlers are much more in the forefront now and to have a complement of four aggressive ones in a team is a dream. Watch them perform through the concentration shown by the batsmen. When they encounter a bowler on a roll it’s the finest form of tussle between the bat and ball.