Allrounders 'unsustainable' in modern game

[andyc]

Cricinfo - Allrounders 'unsustainable' in modern game

Jacob Oram is prepared to stand down from the New Zealand Test side to extend his career as an allrounder in the more lucrative limited overs formats. Oram, who this week watched his Chennai team-mate Andrew Flintoff return to England for yet more surgery, believes the physical demands on allrounders are such that many will be forced to give up one form of the game, or one skill set.

Very interesting article. When you read it all, you really have to sympathise with Oram- he doesn't particularly want to be forced to give up Tests, but clearly, something has to give. Is there any way to stop allrounders from being forced to decide between formats over the long term?

 

[andruid]

They are the biggestcontributiing ton cricket's carbon footprint, what with their explosive batting and bowling

 

[four_or_six]

Cricinfo - Allrounders 'unsustainable' in modern game



Very interesting article. When you read it all, you really have to sympathise with Oram- he doesn't particularly want to be forced to give up Tests, but clearly, something has to give. Is there any way to stop allrounders from being forced to decide between formats over the long term?

I don't think there's any way really. The most important thing is probably having the best players fit and firing for the big series and tournaments, which is a point Ponting made a while ago.

Oram makes his points very articulately, about choosing between games and also about how he worries perceptions of players like himself who get injuries.

 

[oitoitoi]

It's all very well talking about player rotation, but when you're playing in a struggling team where you're a key player, resting when you're not injured is a difficult thing to do. India have been rotating their players fairly well recently though I still feel that Ishant and Zaheer are playing a few too many games.

 

[Richard]

It's been unsustainable to play this much cricket and not expect some players to be injured regularly for quite a while now. At least a couple of decades.

BTW this must be the first Andy Cameron-created thread in CC for a looooooooong time.

 

[Top_Cat]

Absolutely agree. It's why I've been advocating for ages that Watto give up the bowling, at least as far as being a front-liner goes. Aside form being a fairly average bowler, it's the only way he'll get an extended run in the side.

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[Pothas]

A real shame though, there will always be something great about allrounders but they do in large part seem to be a thing of the past. I mean there will always be players who can do a bit of both (especially in ODI cricket) and ones that are exceptional at one and handy at the other but I certainly yearn for a really good fast bowling allrounder. This is why Freddy will always be loved no matter how many times he gets injured or fails with the bat.

 

[four_or_six]

Absolutely agree. It's why I've been advocating for ages that Watto give up the bowling, at least as far as being a front-liner goes. Aside form being a fairly average bowler, it's the only way he'll get an extended run in the side.

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An interesting quote in relation to that is what Oram says

...being an allrounder is part of who I am. To give up the bowling - it's just not me, not what I do. I think it would be giving up Tests before I gave up being an allrounder.

It's an intersting point of view, and I wonder whether it's one that other all-rounders (including Watson) feel too.

 

[Richard]

Watson's always been a batsman who bowls, though. Oram is a genuine all-rounder, roughly equal in bowling and batting ability.

 

[four_or_six]

Watson's always been a bowler who bats, though. Oram is a genuine all-rounder, roughly equal in bowling and batting ability.

Since when was Watson anything other than a batsman who bowled?

 

[andyc]

BTW this must be the first Andy Cameron-created thread in CC for a looooooooong time.

Haha, you're not wrong there. Shows how much uni work I'm not doing.

Watson's always been a bowler who bats, though. Oram is a genuine all-rounder, roughly equal in bowling and batting ability.

That's not the case at all. He's without a doubt always been a batsman who bowls.

 

[zaremba]

Watson's always been a bowler who bats, though.

Did you mean to write that the other way round?

 

[Jono]

Fairly sure Richard would have meant batsman who bowls.

 

[zaremba]

A very depressing article, really. There's too much international cricket. Reduce the amount of ODI cricket that's played, FFS.

 

[Howsie]

New Zealand play about 7-8 test matches a year, if he was to just play ODI's, and 20/20 cricket he would be playing all year.

Stop kidding yourself Oram, it's about the money.

 

[andyc]

Stop kidding yourself Oram, it's about the money.

If you read the article though, that's what he's saying. He seems to feel bad that it's come down to deciding between playing Tests or making money, but when you boil it all down, it's a job, and you get a job so that you can earn money to set up yourself and your family.

 

[James]

I think it comes down to should squads now be containing 22-25 players when you go away on tour rather than the standard 13-15 players and squad rotation being used a lot more? Pretty that's a bit extreme numbers wise but certainly using larger squads.

Look at what the All Blacks do in rugby, they take 35 players to Europe for the end of the season tour.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Watson's always been a bowler who bats, though.

Are you ****ing high? Get a clue before you spout your bull****, ****.

Anyway, obviously this means you have to sell Canning Andy.

 

[Uppercut]

This whole thread sums up exactly why Jacques Kallis is so much more special and incredible than people give him credit for.

 

[popepouri]

I'm not too sure I agree. Flintoff and Oram are injury-prone and that in Flintoff's case, it doesn't help when the English captain continues to throw him the ball because the others fail to take wickets. It's about balancing the workload no matter how talented you are. I think Kallis and Pollock are fine examples who aren't injury-prone but has/had a reasonable workload on their "lesser" abilities. E.g. Kallis is a containing bowler and Pollock came in at 9.