Bowling the key to winning the ICC World Cup 2011
What will be the key to win the ICC World Cup 2011, being played in the Subcontinent? It may be the batting strength of a team, as conditions are conducive for batting in Asia. However, good batting conditions mean that teams will be required to have quality bowling attacks as well, which will allow them to restrict their opponents to smaller totals.
The teams rated as favourites for this year’s World Cup have been mostly judged on their batting armoury. However, bowlers will play a crucial role in boosting their team's chances of winning the mega event.
The outcome of the match between England and India proved to everyone that, no matter how strong a batting line-up a team has, they will not be able to defend even massive totals without wicket-taking bowlers.
Batting first, India managed 338 runs against the Poms. However, the hosts were below par when they came out to bowl, as they conceded 281 runs for the loss of just two wickets before England took their final power-play.
The match eventually ended up being a tie, but that was because of England's poor strategy rather than good bowling from India.
On the other hand, teams having a strong bowling line-up have managed better results, as they have the ability to defend the target posted by their batsmen. Amongst those teams are defending champions Australia, South Africa and the unpredictable Pakistan side.
Having three bowlers who can bowl over 90 miles per hour is a blessing for any captain. That is exactly the case with Ricky Ponting, who has Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson in his playing-11. All three pacers have the ability to reverse swing the ball. They are also lethal with the new ball, as they can provide early breakthroughs.
Apart from the fast bowlers, Australia also has some useful spinners in their squad. Steve Smith and Jason Krejza have done well in the tournament so far, as they have provided wickets at crucial stages to their team apart from containing runs.
Another team with a sound bowling attack is South Africa, which has two of the finest fast bowlers, DaleSteyn and Morne Morkel, in their team. Steyn has a very good strike-rate, and is the best bowler in modern day cricket. The express bowler can be handy at any stage of the game for his team, as he is a wicket-taking option.
Morkel is also a potent force for the Proteas, as he has both pace and bounce. On his day, the tall fast bowler can be absolutely devastating and unplayable. In addition to the fast bowling options, South Africa have a quality spin attack led by Johan Botha and Imran Tahir. The pair have not only been a containing option, but they have also taken wickets at regular intervals for their team.
Other than Australia and South Africa, the third team with one of the most deadly bowling attacks is Pakistan. Not many teams have the luxury of replacing bowlers like Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif with the likes of Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul.
Pakistan have a never-ending list of talent when it comes to bowling, and no matter how many bowlers get banned or injured, the Men-in-Green will always produce some exceptional bowlers.
The variety of their attack can be gauged by the fact that Saeed Ajmal and Wahab Riaz have found it difficult to make it to the playing-11 in the tournament so far, as the likes of Shahid Afridi have been in menacing form.
Even though teams with strong batting line-ups can score plenty of runs, they cannot win matches without a balanced bowling attack, as bowlers play a cruical part in the outcome of the matches.
Therefore teams with a relatively weaker batting line up but a strong bowling unit will prevail at the 2011 World Cup.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of bettor.com.
Tagged in: England, South Africa, India, Dale Steyn, Australia, Morne Morkel, Shaun Tait, Brett Lee, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mitchell Johnson, Pakistan, Bowling, Ricky Ponting, Asia,Mohammad Asif, Wahab Riaz, Steve Smith, Johan Botha, icc world cup 2011, Imran Tahir, Batting,Subcontinent, Jason Krejza, Mohammad Amir
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