Should long-stops be introduced in ODI cricket?

[Days of Grace]

I've been thinking about this question lately and since the Dilshan scoop was introduced, it makes this idea less crazy: having a long stop on the boundary right behind the wicketkeeper.

Especially in the last five overs, tailenders can nick balls either side of the wicketkeeper and pick up valuable runs.

I'm not sure where you would take the fielder from. Maybe deep midwicket, and ask your bowler to bowl off side or yorker length?

What do you think?

 

[Somerset]

I wouldn't personally think it to be necessary. The players that are good enough to play good cricket shots as well as the scoop shot, like Dilshan, would then use the gap in the field to score runs. And I think you'd only be compensating for a lucky edge for those batsmen that find a thick inside or outside edge that costs the fielding team runs - I'd prefer a convention field setting where the ball is more likely to be hit.

 

[Hurricane]

I think in that 20/20 game last night Michael Clarke might have tried it. But I was thinking about it - some of the shots flew very quickly twenty metres either side of where a long stop would have been. But maybe it would have discouraged McCullum from attempting it.

 

[andyc]

Yeah, it did seem a bit silly how the commentators were saying 'there's not much Michael Clarke can do about those sort of shots' when the solution was pretty simple. I'm not criticising him for not using a long-stop, mind you, because it's not really done outside of U10s cricket, but the scoop shot is pretty unorthodox itself...

 

[Furball]

Here's an idea, put a slip in.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

If you stick someone at long stop, then you open up a gap on the boundary elsewhere. Better for the bowler to work on tactics himself.

Plus re. the edges argument towards the end of the innings - the ball disappears so fast down there that I'd reckon the long stop would only have any chance of the seamers of stopping balls ten yards either side of him. Seems pointless.

 

[Sir Alex]

It can be a good tactic provided the bowler is bowling bouncers.

 

[Days of Grace]

Which would mean taking the long off out?


Basically, when five fielders are allowed out, where do you put them for a fast bowler?

 

[Athlai]

For a guy like Tait bowling over 150km/h you could probably set a field almost entirely behind the batsman at the death.

 

[Sir Alex]

Which would mean taking the long off out?


Basically, when five fielders are allowed out, where do you put them for a fast bowler?

Look I would opt for such a thing only when the opposition batsman is really going for the runs and I am planning to counter that with some aggressive short pitched deliveries. Also I would NOT put a long stop against a settled batsman as the chances of edging is remote. Also the pitch I reckon should be a fast bouncy one otherwise the chances of ball going straight overhead is less (or my bowler is a demon who is bowling that fast even on a fairly unresponsive pitch). So assuming allt hese my fielders outside the circle would be in addition to the very fine leg (long stop) a deep square leg, a third man, deep midwicket, a long on (to prevent the slap pull). I would actually bring up the long on and put him at mid on because I think that will encourage him to go for the slap pull and actually outside edge on strigh up in the air.

Disclaimer : I am just an armchair critic and do not consider myself any "expert" in cricket. So please pardon if my ideas look foolish.

 

[Uppercut]

I noticed Australia started putting third man extremely close to the long-stop position when bowling to the tail at the death against England last summer. Good tactic IMO.

 

[Richard]

Bowl to your field. There are some deliveries that, almost no matter what, no batsman can hit to a certain part of the ground. Bowl very full outside off, it's almost impossible to get it to the arc between mid-wicket and mid-on (obviously if you get it wrong it can go there, and if you get it wrong any delivery can always go somewhere where it can't go if you get it right). So you can take a fielder from there.

If you think you can bowl well enough to get a field which stops a shot which can be played almost regardless of delivery (ie, the scoop) then do it. If you don't, don't. Covering the areas that are easiest to hit to should always be one of the first priorities.

 

[slowfinger]

I've been thinking about this question lately and since the Dilshan scoop was introduced, it makes this idea less crazy: having a long stop on the boundary right behind the wicketkeeper.

Especially in the last five overs, tailenders can nick balls either side of the wicketkeeper and pick up valuable runs.

I'm not sure where you would take the fielder from. Maybe deep midwicket, and ask your bowler to bowl off side or yorker length?

What do you think?

WTF no, don't put in a long stop, seriously, how many times is he gonna do a Dilly without losing his wicket? Put in a fine leg or third man, that is alright but you can't bowl to a Dilly, can you?

 

[Sir Alex]

Bowl to your field. There are some deliveries that, almost no matter what, no batsman can hit to a certain part of the ground. Bowl very full outside off, it's almost impossible to get it to the arc between mid-wicket and mid-on (obviously if you get it wrong it can go there, and if you get it wrong any delivery can always go somewhere where it can't go if you get it right)..

YouTube - Sachin Tendulkar amazing shot off Dale Steyn

I agree with you. It is very difficult to pull of such a shot.

 

[vic_orthdox]

The most obvious solution is to bowl a large number of slower balls. Its why the expectation is there for any high quality Twenty20 bowler to have more than one type of slower ball.

To play the shot successfully, you need the ball coming on with pace. Tait's slower ball isn't great, and he generally doesn't like to use it too often; thus it makes him a likely candidate for a ramp.

 

[Lostman]

To play the shot successfully, you need the ball coming on with pace. Tait's slower ball isn't great, and he generally doesn't like to use it too often; thus it makes him a likely candidate for a ramp.

Any batsmen willing to attempt a Dil scoop off a 150km/hr bowler is just insane and deserves the four if he can pull it off, or the resulting broken face.

P.S how cool is it for a batsmen to have a shot named after him.

 

[Richard]

And like so often, the original purveyor is forgotten. That shot was first called "The Marillier", and has now been re-dubbed "The Dilscoop".

Of course the reality is that neither invented it, but it's always funny how the second or third to bring a shot\something-else to real prominence gets remembered rather than the first.

 

[Athlai]

The Bazzer IMO

 

[Lostman]

And like so often, the original purveyor is forgotten. That shot was first called "The Marillier", and has now been re-dubbed "The Dilscoop".

Of course the reality is that neither invented it, but it's always funny how the second or third to bring a shot\something-else to real prominence gets remembered rather than the first.

Kinda like the Jayasuriya/Kalu 1st 15 overs.
Not really who did it second or third, but on the bigger stage with higher success.

 

[Richard]

Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana another very pertinent example.

First to really bring Powerplay-over over-the-top hitting to prominence was Greatbatch and whoever his partner was in 1991/92 (Powerplays had already been around for over a decade before then but that was the first time they were used in a global competition and worldwide beaming of matches not involving your own side was still in its infancy at that stage - so the 1991/92 WC was the first time it really struck everyone simultaneously that someone was deliberately using the tactic of going for it in the first 15). But everyone remembers Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana for it.