Forced to attack
Rules, bat sizes are forcing captains like McCullum to be more aggressive, says Larsen.
Dibbly-dobbly-wibblywobbly. That’s how Gavin Larsen’s bowling style was described by commentators.
The economy of just 3.76 across 121 ODIs is a testimony to why the name of this New Zealander, who played three World Cups, was synonymous for an ODI bowler.
Excerpts:
New Zealand has made a brilliant start. But in two of the four matches they kind of messed up the chase. Do you think it’s an area of concern?
I don’t think that concern is the right word. They will be little worried that key guys in the batting line-up haven’t got too many runs. If you look at the Scotland game, I think, they wanted to win it quickly in order to get the run-rate up and that led to some carelessness. Look, they were always going to knock-off that total but unfortunately there were couple of bad shots in the middle and they lost one or two wicket too many.
But the Australia game got a bit too nerve-wrecking in the end...
Against Australia what we saw was an absolutely magnificent game of cricket. The ball was swinging and as a bowler that gave me a lot of pleasure. In shorter form of the game, it’s common these days for 350 or 400 to be scored. So it was very pleasing to see the ball swinging and swinging late. And both the batting line-ups couldn’t handle that sort of stuff. What made life more difficult for them was the pace of the deliveries. Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Mitch Starc bowl in the mid-140kmph range and that’s not easy to negotiate. So one will have to keep things in perspective while pointing out that the Kiwi batsmen haven’t got runs.
Brendon McCullum’s captaincy has been a revelation. He has gone for the kill all the time. Is he the biggest plus of this Kiwi side?
It reflects his personality. He is a very positive man in his life outside cricket too. He is a very innovative and follow-me kind of leader. The attacking nature comes from his faith in the team and in himself. He, as common New Zealanders, knows how to make optimum use of resources. It’s not England, Australia or India where we have a big player pool to pick from. Brendon has been a massive ace up our sleeves since he has taken over.
His aggression is so blatantly naked. But it would be tested at some point in the tournament. Right?
I guess we will also have to keep in mind that in most of the matches we have been on the front foot and that has helped to keep those aggressive field settings. The way ODI cricket has evolved with regard to pitches, playing conditions and bat sizes it has led to these big score. One way to address that concern from a captaincy point of view is to attack. I think if you get into the blocking mode, it might not help. There is little protection for the bowlers with the four-fielder rule. That I think is forcing a lot of captains to attack and Brendon has done it very well. This aggressive field setting will be a big challenge as and when he comes across a side that is more aggressive than him.
Another team that has been doing well is India. It seemed to have turned around things after losing in the run up to the World Cup. What are your thoughts on that?
I am not that surprised by this turnaround. They have a very good pedigree when it comes to World Cup. They are just starting to become a complete package.
Dibbly-dobbly-wibblywobbly. That’s how Gavin Larsen’s bowling style was described by commentators.
The economy of just 3.76 across 121 ODIs is a testimony to why the name of this New Zealander, who played three World Cups, was synonymous for an ODI bowler.
Now, the head of the World Cup operation in New Zealand, Mirror caught up with him at the Eden Park yesterday to talk about New Zealand’s campaign and India’s chances.
Excerpts:
New Zealand has made a brilliant start. But in two of the four matches they kind of messed up the chase. Do you think it’s an area of concern?
I don’t think that concern is the right word. They will be little worried that key guys in the batting line-up haven’t got too many runs. If you look at the Scotland game, I think, they wanted to win it quickly in order to get the run-rate up and that led to some carelessness. Look, they were always going to knock-off that total but unfortunately there were couple of bad shots in the middle and they lost one or two wicket too many.
But the Australia game got a bit too nerve-wrecking in the end...
Against Australia what we saw was an absolutely magnificent game of cricket. The ball was swinging and as a bowler that gave me a lot of pleasure. In shorter form of the game, it’s common these days for 350 or 400 to be scored. So it was very pleasing to see the ball swinging and swinging late. And both the batting line-ups couldn’t handle that sort of stuff. What made life more difficult for them was the pace of the deliveries. Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Mitch Starc bowl in the mid-140kmph range and that’s not easy to negotiate. So one will have to keep things in perspective while pointing out that the Kiwi batsmen haven’t got runs.
Brendon McCullum’s captaincy has been a revelation. He has gone for the kill all the time. Is he the biggest plus of this Kiwi side?
It reflects his personality. He is a very positive man in his life outside cricket too. He is a very innovative and follow-me kind of leader. The attacking nature comes from his faith in the team and in himself. He, as common New Zealanders, knows how to make optimum use of resources. It’s not England, Australia or India where we have a big player pool to pick from. Brendon has been a massive ace up our sleeves since he has taken over.
His aggression is so blatantly naked. But it would be tested at some point in the tournament. Right?
I guess we will also have to keep in mind that in most of the matches we have been on the front foot and that has helped to keep those aggressive field settings. The way ODI cricket has evolved with regard to pitches, playing conditions and bat sizes it has led to these big score. One way to address that concern from a captaincy point of view is to attack. I think if you get into the blocking mode, it might not help. There is little protection for the bowlers with the four-fielder rule. That I think is forcing a lot of captains to attack and Brendon has done it very well. This aggressive field setting will be a big challenge as and when he comes across a side that is more aggressive than him.
Another team that has been doing well is India. It seemed to have turned around things after losing in the run up to the World Cup. What are your thoughts on that?
I am not that surprised by this turnaround. They have a very good pedigree when it comes to World Cup. They are just starting to become a complete package.
