The want of a ‘pinch hitter’

The recent high scoring One Day Internationals during 2006 / 2007 featuring South Africa (438 ), Australia ( 434 ) New Zealand (350) has opened a new chapter in the manner in which future One Day Internationals will be played, after Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana set a new trend in " Pinch Hitting " over 10 years ago. In the recent New Zealand / Australia O.D.I Series, New Zealand beat Australia scoring 340 and 350 after batting second in consecutive matches. In the final match Mathew Hayden scored 181 for Australia off 166 balls with 10 sixes and 11 fours while Craig McMillan scored 117 off 96 balls and Brian McCullum scored 86 in 89 balls. Is "pinch hitting" of this type going to be the future trend in ODI's ? Will this trend be a feature in the forthcoming World Cup? We will see the answers to these questions in the near future.

Pinch hitting is necessary at some stage of the game if a side has to score over 300 runs. If the wickets in the West Indies are batsman friendly then we are going to see high scoring in most matches and with "power play" extended to 20 overs the bowlers are going to have a tough time. Apart from Bangladesh and Zimbabwe most of the other countries have "pinch hitters" who can change their style of play to suit the occasion. What about Sri Lanka ? Do we have batsmen who can fill this berth? The only batsman in Sri Lanka who can fill this berth, to my mind, is Sanath Jayasuriya who can revert to normal mode when required.

Farvez Maharoof has the potential to fill this role but he has to be groomed for this job. Chaminda Vaas can fill this role to a certain extent but has lacked consistency so far. Chamara Kapugedara is another talented cricketer who has surprisingly failed to live up to expectations. The fact that he was able to hit Bret Lee for a straight six with the first ball he faced from him, shows the kind of talent he has. He should not be side-lined for his recent failures as happened to Chamara Silva. Perhaps Tom Moody should be able to correct any flaws in his technique and I am sure he will be a very valuable member of the side in the future.

In future "pinch hitting" should be a part of the practice strategy and at least 3 players should be selected in a team for this purpose with ability to change gear when necessary.