Wonderful World Cup 
/ Frank Gregan / 22 February 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Individual errors can cost matches
"The New Zealand bowling attack went through the Kenyan batting like a dodgy chicken bhuna in the tournament's second match."
Mashed fruit, dodgy chicken bhunas - Frank Gregan knows his googlies from his doosras but it's another type of ball that could make all the difference at the World Cup.
With the World Cup still in its infancy one thing is clear, the most consistent scorer in the One Day game has lost none of its potency. Extras (and I'm not talking about the weird looking folk that stand in the background of the Rovers Return eating Betty's Hotpot) could determine the outcome of the 'too tough to call' matches. Just one bad over resulting in an extra two or three balls being bowled and a couple of extra boundaries can change a game.
We got a glimpse of it during the first match on Saturday when Bangladesh were chasing a massive total of 371 to win. This wasn't a close contest, the Bangladesh openers went out to the middle knowing that they needed snookers but were given a ray of hope during an over by Sreesanth. During his third over, the fifth of the innings, the Indian pace bowler showed all the accuracy and control of an 18 month old toddler flicking mashed fruit off the end of a plastic spoon! He ended up bowling eight balls as a consequence of a wide and a no ball and to add insult to injury the wide evaded the diving grasp of his wicket keeper and ended up costing his team five runs whilst the total for the over was 24!
The following day the New Zealand bowling attack went through the Kenyan batting like a dodgy chicken bhuna in the tournament's second match. Sixty-nine all out was the African's miserable score, but ten of those runs, nearly 15% of their total came in extras. The Kenyans were only out in the middle for 23.5 overs so the maths is easy enough to do. Had Kenya been there for their full 50 overs the Kiwis would have surrendered 21 runs against very poor quality opposition. Let's face it, most of the Kenyan batsmen would be delighted to make 20.
One of the clichés that people who coach team sports often use is 'there's no I in team!' The collective is always more important than the individual but individual errors can be the difference between winning and losing. If a team loses a game that goes down to the wire and a bowler has gifted his opponents a dozen extras and subsequent additional runs off the bat then that bowler has cost his team dearly.
Is it indiscipline? Is it not a case of having to vary the line so that the batsman is kept guessing and the extras, in particular the leg byes and the wides are just the price of doing business?
That's always the counter argument but watch the great quicks during the last couple of overs of a game. It's full on concentration, line and length searching out the block hole with middle and leg being as far as they dare stray. If they foul and send it down the leg-side they are distraught, if they do the same thing in the middle of the innings they shrug their shoulders and have a giggle with the umpire on their way back to their mark.
Of course it's indiscipline but how do we punish it? The Free Hit ? The signal is enough to put people off the game. The image of Billy Bowden doing the twirling, helicopter finger action whilst looking like an stick-thin, un-co-ordinated John Travolta is not a pretty sight. Besides, there are many English supporters who believe that a Free Hit is any ball delivered by an Aussie spinner. Sure seems that way since the retirement of Shane Warne!
Goodness knows what the answer is but one thing's for sure, any of the leading contenders that can half the number of extras it concedes will give themselves an edge. England get their campaign underway tomorrow against Holland and the [1.04] available on them suggests they are expected to win easily. Winning the competition will prove much more difficult but at [10.5] they are worth supporting. They must surely get shorter as the competition progresses. And should they win it - well that would just be extra-special!
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