Optimizing Brickies and Slayers in the WC

[zen]

Have seen a lot of discussions about Ind having nailed things down for the WC. While it is a good idea to shortlist a pool of players for the WC, it is also important to keep an open mind and device strategy / tactics based on your strengths and conditions during the tournament. 

 

Ind's problem could stem from keeping a rigid stance where the top 3 of Rohit-Dhawan-Kohli have been identified as key strength, along with Dhoni. Other pieces have to fit around these 4. For e.g. #4-5 could be chosen / accommodated based on his ability to stabilize the innings if the top 3 fail rather than the ability to win the game on his own. In certain scenarios, these strengths could turn into a relative weakness. Say for example, the par scores in the WC range from 325-350. In this scenario, it may be beneficial to maximize our return in the PPs, but 

 

a) We would have Rohit-Dhawan, who could focus on building a foundation, which is an exercise to keep Ind in the game vs. taking the game away

b) Followed by Kohli who too is focused on playing a long inning 

c) And Dhoni, who seeks to take the game deep, slotted in the top 6 

 

As we saw in the last T20 vs NZ, if you focus too much on laying a foundation on good batting surface, the strength is not the person laying the foundation but the big hitters, who turn the game by playing at an extraordinary high SR. If we pursue this strategy over a set of matches, inevitably we are relying on luck as the big hitters, who are the strength in this situation, cannot always come in and get going after playing a few balls. At times, we are going to have collapses

 

In the above scenario, the top 3, along with Dhoni, are taking almost no risks. While the other 2-3 batsmen in the top 7 are taking all the risks. On the other hand, if the pitch is bowling friendly, our openers are not known to make the desired impact (i.e. lay foundation) 

 

To spread the risk and optimize the 50 overs, we may need to look at different approaches. I have represented my school/city/district in some team sports. In hockey, for e.g. there is a concept of creating triangles, where we have 3 players who play well as a group. If we adapt this concept to batting positions, may be have 1-2 big hitters in 3 consecutive slots depending up on the stage of the game. To illustrate 

 

1) Brickie 

2) Slayer / Brickie

3) Brickie / Slayer 

and so on 

 

Therefore, if we are opening with Rohit-Dhawan, we have someone like Pant at 3. On the other hand, if Kohli, a brickie, is slotted at 3, we may need to open with a slayer 

 

Per the above, the concept of having to play someone like Rayudu for e.g. goes out of window. And the combinations below emerge: 

 

1. Dhawan (brickie)

2. Pant / Shaw / Agarwal (slayer)

3. Kohli (brickie)

4 / 5. Pandya / Rohit (slayer / brickie per situation)

6. Jadhav (slayer)

7. Dhoni 

 

or 

 

1. Dhawan (brickie)

2. Rohit (brickie)

3. Pant / Shaw / Agarwal (slayer)

4. Kohli (brickie)

5. Pandya (slayer)

6. Jadhav (slayer)

7. Dhoni

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2019 by zen

[maniac]

2 minutes ago, zen said:

Have seen a lot of discussions about Ind having nailed things down for the WC. While it is a good idea to shortlist a pool of players for the WC, it is also important to keep an open mind and device strategy / tactics based on your strengths and conditions during the tournament. 

 

Ind's problem could stem from keeping a rigid stance where the top 3 of Rohit-Dhawan-Kohli have been identified as key strength, along with Dhoni. Other pieces have to fit around these 4. For e.g. #4-5 could be chosen / accommodated based on his ability to stabilize the innings if the top 3 fail rather than the ability to win the game on his own. In certain scenarios, these strengths could turn into a relative weakness. Say for example, the par scores in the WC range from 325-350. In this scenario, it may be beneficial to maximize our return in the PPs, but 

 

a) We would have Rohit-Dhawan, who could focus on building a foundation, which is an exercise to keep Ind in the game vs. taking the game away

b) Followed by Kohli who too is focused on playing a long inning 

c) And Dhoni, who seeks to take the game deep, slotted in the top 6 

 

As we saw in the last T20 vs NZ, if you focus too much on laying a foundation on good batting surface, the strength is not the person laying the foundation but the big hitters, who turn the game by playing at an extraordinary high SR. If we pursue this strategy over a period of matches, inevitable we are relying on luck as the big hitters, who are the strength in this situation, cannot always come in and get going after playing a few balls. At times, we are going to have collapses

 

In the above scenario, the top 3, along with Dhoni, are taking almost no risks. While the other 2-3 batsmen in the top 7 are taking all the risks. On the other hand, if the pitch is bowling friendly, our openers are not known to make the desired impact (i.e. lay foundation) 

 

To spread the risk and optimize the 50 overs, we may have need to look at different approaches. I have represented my school/city/district in some team sports. In hockey, for e.g. there is a concept of creating triangles, where we have 3 players who play well as a group. If we adapt this concept to batting positions, may be have 1-2 big hitters in 3 consecutive slots depending up on the stage of the game. To illustrate 

 

1) Brickie 

2) Slayer / Bricklie

3) Brickie / Slayer 

and so on 

 

Therefore, if we are opening with Rohit-Dhawan, we have someone like Pant at 3. On the other hand, if Kohli, a brickie, is slotted at 3, we may need to open with a slasher 

 

Per the above, the concept of playing someone like Rayudu for e.g. goes out of window. And the combinations below emerge: 

 

1. Dhawan (brickie)

2. Pant (slayer)

3. Kohli (brickie)

4 / 5. Pandya / Rohit (slayer / brickie per situation)

6. Jadhav (slayer)

7. Dhoni 

 

or 

 

1. Dhawan (brickie)

2. Rohit (brickie)

3. Pant (Slayer)

4. Kohli (brickie)

5. Pandya (Slayer)

6. Jadhav (Slayer)

7. Dhoni

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rohit is not a brickie, he is the world’s most powerful bulldozer, you know the ones that take

down these big casino hotels when they rebuild them

[zen]

7 minutes ago, maniac said:

Rohit is not a brickie, he is the world’s most powerful bulldozer, you know the ones that take

down these big casino hotels when they rebuild them

In multinational tourneys since 2015:

 

View overall figures [change view]

Primary team Australia  or England  or India  or New Zealand  or South Africa

Start of match date greater than or equal to 1 Jan 2015

Tournament type 3-4 team tournaments  or 5+ team tournaments

Batting position between 1 and 3

Qualifications runs scored greater than or equal to 100

Ordered by batting strike rate (descending)

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Overall figures

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0	4s	6s
BB McCullum (NZ)	2015-2015	9	9	0	328	77	36.44	174	188.50	0	4	1	44	17
L Ronchi (NZ)	2017-2017	7	7	0	182	65	26.00	151	120.52	0	1	1	29	4
DA Warner (AUS)	2015-2017	17	16	2	731	178	52.21	701	104.27	3	1	0	80	11
MJ Guptill (NZ)	2015-2017	12	12	1	633	237*	57.54	613	103.26	2	1	0	72	17
AD Hales (ENG)	2015-2017	6	6	0	228	95	38.00	232	98.27	0	2	1	23	6
JE Root (ENG)	2017-2017	4	4	1	258	133*	86.00	264	97.72	1	1	0	19	3
MM Ali (ENG)	2015-2015	10	10	0	311	128	31.10	327	95.10	1	0	0	36	9
S Dhawan (INDIA)	2015-2018	22	22	0	1141	137	51.86	1203	94.84	5	3	0	140	19
SR Watson (AUS)	2015-2015	5	5	0	104	41	20.80	113	92.03	0	0	1	13	1
RG Sharma (INDIA)	2015-2018	19	19	4	1089	138	72.60	1188	91.66	4	6	2	96	33
HM Amla (SA)	2015-2017	17	17	1	728	159	45.50	811	89.76	3	2	0	69	9
IR Bell (ENG)	2015-2015	11	11	2	509	141	56.55	578	88.06	1	4	1	54	1
TWM Latham (NZ)	2017-2017	4	4	0	257	104	64.25	292	88.01	1	2	0	26	5
SPD Smith (AUS)	2015-2017	14	13	4	819	105	91.00	933	87.78	2	7	0	69	7
V Kohli (INDIA)	2015-2017	14	14	5	571	107	63.44	654	87.30	1	3	1	55	5
NT Broom (NZ)	2017-2017	2	2	0	101	63	50.50	118	85.59	0	1	0	11	0
AJ Finch (AUS)	2015-2017	23	21	0	685	135	32.61	807	84.88	1	4	3	69	12
KS Williamson (NZ)	2015-2017	12	12	2	478	100	47.80	564	84.75	1	3	0	49	5
F du Plessis (SA)	2015-2017	13	12	1	583	109	53.00	697	83.64	1	5	0	41	4
UT Khawaja (AUS)	2016-2016	7	6	0	217	98	36.16	270	80.37	0	2	0	17	4
RR Rossouw (SA)	2015-2016	3	3	0	111	61	37.00	143	77.62	0	1	0	11	0
AT Rayudu (INDIA)	2015-2018	8	8	2	221	60	36.83	295	74.91	0	2	0	16	7
Q de Kock (SA)	2015-2017	17	17	2	403	78*	26.86	538	74.90	0	3	1	48	1
AM Rahane (INDIA)	2015-2015	4	4	1	146	73	48.66	213	68.54	0	1	0	8	2
JWA Taylor (ENG)	2015-2015	6	6	2	155	82	38.75	239	64.85	0	2	1	8	0

 

 

It is similar to playing 3 Amlas in top 3

[zen]

If the par scores are 300+, I would not mind starting with a line up like the one below:

 

Dhawan / Rohit / Agarwal 

Agarwal / Shaw (for relatively quick starts and also probably better bets vs swing too) 

Kohli 

Rohit  / Agarwal (if Rohit is opening) / Pant 

Pandya

Jadhav

Dhoni 

Kuldeep 

Bhuvi / Chahal 

Shami

Bumrah 

 

[flamy]

I like how on ICF imaginary potentials replace actual people playing. First, it was Gill, and once he played couple of matches, disappears from all the wishlists. And, now Shaw and Agarwal are the golden boys.

 

[zen]

1 hour ago, flamy said:

I like how on ICF imaginary potentials replace actual people playing. First, it was Gill, and once he played couple of matches, disappears from all the wishlists. And, now Shaw and Agarwal are the golden boys.

 

When Rohit and Dhawan were being seen as potential, ppl considered them to be imaginary too .  

[Straight Drive]

The batting order should be modified as per the scorecard situation. Who would be the floaters. 

 

(1) Jadhav - who is likely to be promoted ahead of if it's a great scoreboard after 2 wickets and 20 overs are yet to be bowled.

 

(2) Pandya - who is likely to be promoted if it's a great scoreboard after 2 wickets and 15 overs are yet to be bowled.

 

This is a khayali pukao though. We might see the same biryani being served at scheduled time 

[zen]

29 minutes ago, Straight Drive said:

 

This is a khayali pukao though. We might see the same biryani being served at scheduled time 

Ind is not known to be flexible / street smart .... It is probably like someone wearing the black suit everyday to work

[zen]

Need a strategy on how we make use of PPs positively .... Have to consider Pant or Pandya as top order options 

[The Dark Horse]