Ask the Readers: How do you play Twenty20
This year seems to be the year of Twenty20 cricket.
The IPL has been in the news headlines and the World Twenty20 in England is set to be the highlight of the ICC major tournaments program. For me, part of the reason the game has become so popular is that is started in England where cricketers play 20 over evening cricket. It was a format that was recognisable and short enough to be exciting.
That led us to thinking that there must be an untapped resource around the world. Club players and coaches with years of experience at being effective in short format cricket.
So I am opening the floor to you today. My question is this:
What are your Twenty20 tips: Batting, bowling, fielding or otherwise?
We will be compiling the best answers as part of a larger celebration of playing Twenty20 in time for the world event in the English summer.
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When to "go"
7 wickets left - 15th over
5 wickets left - 16th over
3 wickets left - 18th over
1 wicket left - last 2 balls
When to "go" could depend on the strength of your tail, condition of wicket and the standard of bowling you are facing. But its good for a rough idea.
My best tip for wicketkeepers like myself would be to pratice in training standing up to your bowlers that will be bowling at the death. In a match situation, standing up will add presure on the batsman, and so no quick singles can even be attempted like they could if you we standing back. If the chance of you getting an edge and your confidant that your not going to conceade byes, go for it.
Guess so. Good point
A good batting tip is to work out which angles are lowest risk for example hitting left arm spin over extra cover rather than midwicket.
for those playing evening T20 it is often a great advantage to bat first in the better light...especially towards to end of the season when you play in Scotland like me...as it gets dark during the second innings in August/September. Also setting a good target can force the other team to play outside their comfort zone and make unforced errors as they try and keep up with the run-rate and "scoreboard pressure"
u need to go from the first ball onwards.
I agree Caz; this applies for school matches also in april and may as the light will be poor for the last 5 or 10 overs.
I disagree with Desai though. In juniors or school cricket a good 1st innings score would be round 100-120 depending on the wicket and conditions. This means an overall run rate of 5 or 6 an over. A lot of those runs could be made up at the end of the innings or against weaker bowlers so against the openers 4 an over is a solid start - I don't describe that as "going for it."
Most of our games are T20s here, and tactics are pretty easy. As a batsman, you have to minimize dot balls, get settled with more singles, usually simple drives and tap and run will help you find the middle. Once you're set you naturally hit the bad balls. International bowlers bowl full tosses, short pitch or over pitched deliveries, so it's not hard to get bad balls playing a lower standard of cricket. Punish the bad balls, and work the other balls for singles or doubles into the gaps or above short fielders.
Even though there isn't a fixed score we'd settle for as conditions (like outfield, swing) differ, we would generally want to go at 4 to 6 runs per over for the first 2 to 4 overs, hitting mostly the short balls for boundaries. No bad ball is usually left alone after that, playing not only slogs but also standard cricket shots.
Whenever I perform in T20s my strike is always around 200 (81 off 47, 66 off 34 and so on, 79 off 39), and most of my shots are traditional cricketing shots. Cuts, pulls, drives, and sweeps too.
And there is always the one weak bowler who's not talented or is tired who goes for 13-18 in one over.
And one shot that's really effective is the slash. Any width and the batsman slashes hard at the ball (if there's no 3rd man), the bally flying over slips or point for four.
Also, roles of batsman are important. When we play a batsman plays the anchor role in the beginning, the sloggers batting at the other end. Once he's set, towards the last few overs, he sends the ball flying all around the park too.
If the tempo of the game is too much or you feel the opposition is getting exicted, take a few seconds to analyse the game, decide what you need to do or to take a break when batting (or bowling if you don't have huge time constraints)
For bowling for both the spinners and quickies, change of pace is essential. Always keep the batsman guessing by varying pace, line and length.
If a batsman goes dead straight, It is almost always a boundary as you cannot field behind the bowlers arm
Anything else?