Best way to play cricket is to attack

Attack is the best form of defence is an adage I heard often while growing upI was reminded of this sage piece of cricketing advice when I read two conflicting opinions on the advantages of adopting an attacking approach Firstly England first Test century maker Ravi Bopara gave us a clue to why hes likely to be a successful international cricketer hes smart as well as talentedWhen he was asked about whether playing IPL was an appropriate preparation for Test cricket he replied I think it worked to my advantage coming from the IPL said Bopara because as a batter when youre trying to play positive your instincts work a lot better You get into better positions and you want to hit the ball Take that Ravi Bopara not only left his mark all over IPLII by scoring heavily for Kings XI Punjab but also scored a century against the West Indies in the first Test after resuming national duty for England picapA wise head on young shoulders Not only does a batsman get into good position to play attacking shots when hes in a positive frame of mind hes also more alert in defence Hence the adage about attack being the best form of defenceThen chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch was asked whether Australia would use attacking spin in England or rely more on containment to create wickets OverratedHis response was curious to say the least The word attacking is a bit overrated really said Hilditch The day attacking cricket is overrated the game will be in its death throes Hilditch then went on to elaborate Some spinners you regard as more attacking might spin the ball a bit more they might be a bit more erratic but really its about asserting pressure and performing the role the captain wants He then lauded Nathan Hauritz a spin bowler who doesnt extract a lot of turn as such a player Certainly Nathan did that very well in the times hes played because we wanted to tie up an end assert pressure from that end keep pressure on batsmen and relieve the fast bowlersPressure has to be the most overused word in the cricket dictionary Not scoring for a while doesnt worry a good batsman too much because he has confidence in his ability to collect runs What does bother even the best of players is the inkling that a bowler might have his measure That hes just sizing him up for the pine box or in this case the dressing room The thought of being dismissed is what really worries a batsmanAnd anyway if selectors are so interested in building pressure on a batsman by containment why do they keep choosing captains who mindlessly place a man on the boundary at point and backward squareleg Theres no greater joy for a batsman especially one new to the crease than to see a big gap in the field where a single can be collected easily even from a good ballAnyone in two minds about choosing an attacking bowler or one whose specialty is containment should ponder this Ill use the example of Hauritz and Jason Krejza because Hilditch mentioned one and was probably making an oblique reference to the otherWhy waste timeConsider that 540 balls are supposed to be bowled in a Test match day At his present strike rate Krejza would bowl the opposition out in virtually one day whilst Hauritz would take an extra 180 balls What captain in his right mind would want to spend an extra third of a day in the field Put another way if you lose the toss and field youre going to be batting from virtually the start of the second day with Krejzas strike rate while at Hauritzs pace itll be just after lunchThe really good spinners can tie a batsman down while at the same time put his wicket in danger Its only the reluctance of many modern batsmen to use their feet that has made spinners who contain a valued itemu00a0 Any captain who doesnt have taking wickets as his main priority is delusional If you want to see the affect of real pressure take three wickets in the first session of a Test and then have a close look at the next batsmans eyes as he shuffles to the creaseItll be an interesting duel in the Ashes series if Hauritz bowls to Bopara a clash of opposing philosophies My money is on the man who seizes the opportunity to attack