The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Why are tall fast bowlers using so many slower cutters into the pitch?
ON MONDAY night as Andre Russell linedup to face Mustafizur Rahman in the 18th over, there was no surprise in what was about to come. Against a batsman who had hit 10 sixes already this season and has a strike-rate of 212.96, that Mustafizur would rely on slower deliveries was a given. Yet, despite the predictability, the left-arm seamer walked away giving just 9 runs in the over.
In an IPL where two bouncers an over was supposed to be game changer and empower fast bowlers, it is these slower deliveries – especially the cutters, which are banged into the pitch – that are making it challenging for batsmen to fetch boundaries.
“The off-cutters with the older ball in the middle and end overs are very handy,” Lakshmipathy Balaji, who was the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings in the past, tells The Indian Express.
“Against left-handers, it becomes an attacking delivery because you are not just taking pace off the ball, but it is going away from their reach. You have more chances of getting a wicket. Against right-handers, it is a very good defensive option. Although it will come in the hitting arc, the lack of pace has given the batsman less time to adjust; unless he uses the muscles, middling it is difficult,” Balaji reasons.
In that over, Mustafizur delivered seven balls to Russell (one no-ball and one wide) and out of those, four were on the fuller length.
And three of those landed outside the line of off-stump, forcing him to stretch. The rest four were the cutters, which held up after pitching, and went away from a batsman who had already committed to use all his muscle.
One delivery off which Russell got his boundary was the one that landed partly in line of the stumps.
Apart from Mustafizur, Pat Cummins, Trent Boult, Jaydev Unadkat, Andre Russell, Khaleel Ahmed, Gerald Coetzee have all used it to good effect so far. With wide yorkers and full-length slower deliveries coming with its own risk and the back of the hand slower balls harder to execute, the off-cutters into the pitch have become stock delivery of sorts.
“Apart from Mohit (Sharma) nobody bowls the back of the hand deliveries because it is hard to execute. Someone like Pat Cummins, who regularly bowls at over 140kmph, can bowl the off-cutters without changing the action. In the World Cup final, he was very successful in using those. With the off-cutters, since you are using the wrists, you get good control as well,”
Balaji explained.
And more importantly, it is the taller fast bowlers who are making full use of these cutters.
For instance, CSK have relied on wide slower deliveries that are in fuller length, giving the pacers protection with fielders at deep cover.
Though Dwayne Bravo, a death over specialist and master of slower deliveries, is their bowling coach, there is a reason why apart from Mustafizur others haven’t used the cutters.
“We have seen a lot of pace off the ball deliveries into the wicket already in the tournament, which is quite early. And one of the things we found out was, they are all tall bowlers. Take Delhi for example, they sort of hit a certain length into the wicket and it is more effective than may be our guys, who have to do it differently because they are not the same sort of height. We can apply the same for Pat Cummins and SRH attack...they are tall. But it is crucial to have a slower ball that gets the opposition talking. The main thing is to get into their heads,” Simons, the assistant coach of CSK, and bowling coach of India’s 2011 World Cup winning squad said.
From a batting perspective, these offcutters have been challenging. While the fuller slow deliveries could at least hit straight if picked early, the batsmen find the cutters more difficult.
Despite having more time to react, the lack of pace especially after pitching means
Against left-handers, it becomes an attacking delivery because you are not just taking pace off the ball, but it is going away from their reach. You have more chances of getting a wicket. Against righthanders, it is a very good defensive option.”
ON SLOW OFF-CUTTERS IN IPL
batsmen’s range is cut short. The scoops and reverse-scoops are neutralised and so are the shots in the V.
“When you are a power-hitter, everyone likes pace on the bat. Every dimension and condition will determine what a bowler will deliver. The slower bouncer helps and when you have big side boundaries, this pace off the ball, into the pitch helps. It is not something everyone can bowl, only the taller ones use it. These slower balls create doubts in batsmen’s mind,” Abhishek Nayar, the assistant coach of KKR said.
The last word, though, to Balaji. “Look, in T20s no delivery is a safe option as batsmen invariably figure a way out. Even with cutters, power-hitters can easily hit them for six. The key is in its deception.”