[Series Thread]: 2018 ICC World Cup Qualifier | Non-Zim Matches

[Kriterion_BD]

That should humble the AFGs a bit. Haha. Excellent tournament so far.

Looks like the Irish and the Scots have brought their A games.

Afghans are already in a must-win situation given the Scots were always favored to progress to the Super 6s and they lost the points, granted NRR damage is minimal.

I've got a feeling its gonna come down to NRR.

[eugene]

Great to see Scotland win. I have long rated this Scotland team and wouldn't be surprised to see them qualify.

[jaybro]

Group B is wide open now I can’t believe how well they handled Rashid !!!!! Of all the bowlers he took the most punishment almost as if the Scots targeted him.

I’d be interested to know how they played the spinners I wonder if they tried sweeping them as much as Zimbabwe did??

I wonder if Zimbabwe will stick with the sweep tactic for Tuesday

[eugene]

Group B is wide open now I can’t believe how well they handled Rashid !!!!! Of all the bowlers he took the most punishment almost as if the Scots targeted him.

I’d be interested to know how they played the spinners I wonder if they tried sweeping them as much as Zimbabwe did??

I wonder if Zimbabwe will stick with the sweep tactic for Tuesday

Too bad these games aren't broadcast, would love to see how they handled Rashid also.

I think the Afghans are too arrogant and may crash out.

Also, I think we may want the Windies to crash out, that will ensure the ICC never pursues this format again. Not having the Windies in a World Cup will be an embarrassment for everyone.

[jaybro]

I think it would be best for everyone if the Windies and Afghanistan missed out because there will be a big outcry about the Former champions Windies not being there and also having the best ODI bowler in the world not there in Rashid Khan.

[Kriterion_BD]

Rashid I don't think is reall the best bowler in the world. He has just feasted on teams ranked 7th on down. I don't think he's even played a game vs a top 6 side yet. Granted he is a world class bowler. But those 5-20 figures he takes ever other game would instead be 3-45 against an AUS or SA, or 2-55 against a India. He'd be ranked around 10th or so.

Afghans are under the pump now since they've essentially lost a Super 6 game already, with just 4 more to play. Assuming the Supers have these teams:

West Indies
Afghanistan
Zimbabwe
Ireland
Scotland
Netherlands

And assuming that everyone loses at least 1 game, the Afghans have very little margin for error. One more loss and they will most likely be playing with NRR instead of automatically qualifying.

This format really makes it a tight contest. Exciting shit!

[jaybro]

Group B is wide open now I can’t believe how well they handled Rashid !!!!! Of all the bowlers he took the most punishment almost as if the Scots targeted him.

I’d be interested to know how they played the spinners I wonder if they tried sweeping them as much as Zimbabwe did??

I wonder if Zimbabwe will stick with the sweep tactic for Tuesday

Too bad these games aren't broadcast, would love to see how they handled Rashid also.

According to this article McLeod actually used the sweep to great effect against Rashid.

"The only thing I focused on a little bit more here was sweeping," MacLeod said. "I think the preparation and all the analyst work we'd done said these wickets might spin a bit more. So the couple of months leading up to it, I spent a bit more time practicing the sweep and getting familiar with it again because it's something I put out of my game a little bit and I'm not entirely sure why.

"So to spend a couple of months practicing it and then take it out and use it in the first game of the tournament is something that I'm quite pleased with because it was something I aimed to bring into this tournament. So there was a bit of preparation that went into it."

MacLeod, on 37 off 39 balls then, said his main focus was on countering Rashid's trademark wicket-taking ball by using the sweep. The result was two boundaries off Rashid in his first over. By the end of the day, the legspinner finished with some of his most expensive figures ever, 1 for 68 in nine overs.

"We certainly respected him as the number one bowler in the world," MacLeod said. "Early on in that innings he bowled me a couple of variations and from that I felt the sweep was the best option to go with if I could manage to pick his googly. I wanted to put pressure back on him while respecting how good a bowler that he is. I was probably lucky early in the innings to get those boundaries away against him and was able to stick with that."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/ ... reat-style


Will be very interesting to see ( or not see and read about a day later ) if Zimbabwe again go the sweep route against Rashid and the other spinners

[ZIMDOGGY]

Yes sweeps fine, reverse sweeps no.

Not sure why modern day Zim think this is an everyday tactic.

its meant to be a desperate play for quick runs. Desperation.

Zim as a team themselves have always swept more than a chimney cleaning crew and it has worked for them.
Standard normal sweeping.
Carlisle swept a lot by just titling his bat forward and tapping it behind him for a single.

Zim should actually employ the orthodox sweep MORE and the reverse sweep LESS.
Wehen zimbots DO do the standard sweep they usually slog sweep when they can justt roll the hands and glide it away.

Teams put a player back there for the reverse against Zim now.

[Kriterion_BD]

I've probably posted about it before. But given the importance of a global tournament, I'm going to post my thoughts about sweeping. It should be mentioned that I have no coaching experience and everything I'm stating are just my observations.

Conventional batting wisdom is that straight batted shots are safer and hence "more proper". That is of course true. On a flat surface it becomes easy to play straight to all types of bowling. If the ball begins to swing or seam, however, playing straight requires a good eye to read the exact line of the delivery, especially after deviation, and a tight enough technique to bring the bat to that line as well as safeguard in case you read the deviation incorrectly (eg minimizing the bat-pad gap so an inswinger doesn't go through and bowl you).

The same applies for facing spin. When the ball isn't turning, playing straight becomes easy. When it is turning, its far more difficult, and cross batted shots start to become relatively less risky whilst still maintaining a high reward value. Of course you need width to cut the ball and it should be short in order to pull.

Now we get to sweeping. There are several different types of sweeps. Each sweep is best used when you are hitting with the turn, not against it.

The paddle sweep is probably the safest given that you don't really wind up and commit...you just stick your bat out and deftly guide the ball fine on the leg side mostly just using the pace of the ball. This sweep is just about as safe as straight batted defense. But, and there is always a but, you can really only play it to a ball that is fractionally down the leg side.

Then you have the slog sweep. We all know this one. Its premeditated and hence very prevalent in the back end of limited overs games. There a big backlift, power, and little to no effort in keeping the ball down. Often results in a 6 over midwicket. Quite a risky shot if you don't judge the length or the bounce to perfection. Batsmen often get out bowled playing the slog sweep.

Third up is the orthodox sweep. This is kept along the ground, does not have the power of the slog variety, but also isn't a pure deflection like the paddle version. It is therefore of intermediate risk. Generally a good sweep to use for balls just outside off stump or maybe even in line with off. One very good technique is to make sure you step outside the line of the wickets on the front foot, so that should you miss, the impact is outside the line and you can't be given lbw.

Lastly we have the reverse sweep. This is the bastard sibling among the 4 sweep children. It is dangerous as it is ugly. If your objective is to score backward of square on the offside play the cut or a square drive, not this monstrosity! So many things can go wrong. You can be out caught, bowled, lbw...just an all around mess.

_____________________

Now when you watch Asian batsman batting against a spinner, just count how infrequently the sweep (any type). And then compare it to how often you see a Taylor, or Williams, or Masakadza attempt one. You will be astonished. I haven't actually counted, but just guessing, ZIM batsmen probably attempt 3 times as many sweeps as an of your Asian sides (excluding Afghanistan who don't know how to bat).

When you sweep as often as that, you are probably sweeping in a premeditated fashion. "I can't play straight even though its not turning, so I'll sweep" is not a good strategy. The spinner knows you will attempt two sweep shots per over and will start to tweak his length accordingly. A slightly fuller ball fired in may sneak under the bat and there goes another lbw or in the case of Solomon Mire, clean bowled.

When you sweep on merit. You are sweeping when the length is just right. Its not predetermined and the bowler isn't looking out for it. That is when you get maximal value for the shot and that is when you play it.

The other issue is "Which sweeps do ZIM batters like to play?"

Answer is: the RISKY ones.

You see very few paddle sweeps or orthodox sweeps. What you do see are slog sweeps - Mire throwing the kitchen itself - or reverse sweeps (cough, BRM Taylor, couch). Whats wrong with the orthodox sweep? Whats wrong with the paddle? If you are going sweep in a scripted fashion, at least use the safer ones.

That in a nutshell is my spiel on sweeping.

[jaybro]

You’re right about Asian players sweeping less frequently but you’re wrong about it being easier to play cross bat shots when it’s swinging and spinning.

When the ball isn’t moving it’s easiest to play straight or cross bat shots because you can trust the the trajectory of the ball after it pitches. Once the ball is moving you have to either get to the pitch of the ball to nullify the spin or swing or play very late which is probably easier against swing or seam than spin.

The best way to play spin is to use your feet and play straight.