Watching the trials and tribulations of Jonny Bairstow, as he faced a short-pitched onslaught from the West Indies pace bowlers, took my mind back 12 months to when Suresh Raina faced a similar assault by the England attack.
I was also reminded of what that excellent England paceman and part time poet John Snow said in the sixties; “The bouncer is a short and emphatic examination paper that you put to the batsman.”u00a0Both the on-field actions of pace bowlers and Snow’s comment are ample reason for coaches of talented young batsmen to think carefully about the way they prepare players for the future. Any coach fortunate enough to have a young batsman who he thinks is skilled enough to reach international level, should automatically have his pupil learn the full repertoire of shots.
England’s Jonny Bairstow ducks a short ball during Day Three of the Lord’s Test against West Indies on May 19.u00a0
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If that mission is accomplished the player, on reaching international level, will then have the option of deciding which shots he employs on the day, depending on the opposition bowlers and the prevailing conditions.u00a0If the young batsman isn’t fully prepared, then he faces the daunting prospect of trying to survive at the highest level while fighting with one hand tied behind his back.
India’s Suresh Raina facing the heat against England at the Lord's Cricket Ground on July 25, 2011. Pics/Getty Images
My South Australian captain Les Favell, a ferocious proponent of the horizontal bat shots, often said; “At international level you must be able to hook or cut to succeed and it’s better if you can play both.”u00a0This is wise counsel for the simple reason that Test fast bowlers tend to take a quick look at a young player’s technique and if that appears to be in order they then apply Snow’s examination paper. This approach is designed to find out if the young batsman is really determined to have a long stay in the middle or if he’d rather be back by the hotel swimming pool sipping on a pina colada.u00a0
Because Test matches are only won either by so many runs or so many wickets, it’s imperative that batsmen not only survive but also prosper against the short ball. It’s possible for a batsman to take a boxer’s approach of bobbing and weaving for a while but against the better attacks that method has a limited life span.u00a0Raina found this out in the series against England; after being constantly badgered by the English quick bowlers, he eventually lashed out at Trent Bridge only to be caught off a top-edge hook.u00a0Cricketers have a saying; “There are two types of hook. The one played out of fright and the other played by choice.”u00a0
The former is easy to spot because it ends up resembling “a get away from me shot”, much like the one Raina played at Trent Bridge. Both Bairstow and Raina are talented players with the skill to make big scores in the Test arena. The game needs young players like them to succeed because they are both extremely entertaining cricketers. If both fall short of expectations, it could be the result of an inadequate preparation for a future at Test level.
This failure could either be in the form of not being taught the full repertoire of shots at a young age or some poor advice to shelve the hook or pull at an early stage in their career.u00a0Cricket has made some tremendous advances in the process of becoming fully professional at international level. However, I’m not sure enough thought has been given to the preparation of young players for a possible international future. Putting the best coaches in charge of the most talented young cricketers would be a good start.
Cricket can’t afford to have talented individuals fall short of international level purely because their technique failed. Temperament can be a matter of fortune but skill can be honed.u00a0Hopefully both Bairstow and Raina will get their games sorted out and go on to have successful Test careers. If they don’t, it will most likely be because they failed the John Snow examination.u00a0
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