Hitting Against the Spin

By Harsha Amarasinghe

Batting in the subcontinent is an art, and those who have mastered it – such as Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara Rahul David, Mahela Jayawardena and Mohamed Yusuf – had a very solid technique to handle the biggest threat in the subcontinent – the turn and bounce.

But then there is Russell Arnold, who many believe played for Sri Lanka with just one shot – the sweep.

One of the main concepts with regard to handling the spin, is to avoid hitting against the spin considering the fact that most wickets are rank turners and the chance of a top-edge is high.

The Sri Lanka team has been very successful in the recent past especially in the subcontinent and the aggressive nature of the middle order batsmen such as Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka who have hammered the spinners was instrumental to that.

Rajapaksa despite being a left hander usually doesn't hesitate taking on an off-spinner and hitting against the spin and Shanaka likewise would not mind whacking a leg spinner, but then there are days like the Asia Cup final.

However, the World Cup is played in Australia and naturally the pitches have got an extra bounce which is far more dangerous if you are slogging against the spin given the boundaries are also very long.

Rajapaksa and Shanaka have often targeted deep mid-wicket to long-on region to slog the spinners whereas a player like Kusal Mendis looks to sweep or literally pull the ball towards deep square-leg to fine-leg region which in general is vacant when spinners are operating – the latter would probably be the better option during this World Cup.

Floater Wanindu Key for SL Chances

Wanindu Hasaranga has been a magician for Sri Lanka with the ball having taken wickets regularly in limited overs cricket since his debut. It's hard to imagine the leg spinner was only considered as a net bowler for the Cricket World Cup 2019 behind Jeewan Mendis and Jeffrey Vandersay. However, the former Richmond bowler has already proved he is one of the best spinners in the world.

Although from a young age, Hasaranga was regarded as an all-rounder, he has often batted down the order for the national team. Part-time consultant Mahela Jayawardena who somehow always pops up with the national team for the World Cups, often liked the idea of using Hasaranga as a floater where the right hander is sent up the batting order occasionally, based on the situation to lead the counter attack which has infact worked sometimes; most notably against the Ireland in the previous World Cup in the United Arab Emirates last year where Sri Lanka had lost three wickets for eight runs, only for Hasaranga to step in and whack 71 runs off 47 deliveries.

In Australia, most teams have struggled to score big in the middle overs. Almost all the teams are capable of accumulating runs at pace within the power-play and give it a good go in the death overs. However, teams have been kept quiet from over number 8 to 15 especially when they lose a couple of wickets in the power-play which has been significant in the outcome most games.

In the last Big Bash League (BBL), especially the teams batting first were unable to accelerate in the middle overs leaving too much for the last five overs. There is an obvious advantage batting second knowing the target, but with the best spinners of the opposite team set to operate in that period batting line ups need adjustments and Sri Lanka should look to make most of Hasaranga's batting.