Stick to the basics and keep it simple - what does this actually mean?

[Dinx - the Jinx]

This is one phrase that we keep hearing off late during presentation ceremonies. Whenever a player does well and comes back with a good purchase (be it batting or bowling), they utter this sentence upon being quizzed. More often than not, it comes from the sub-continental players, especially Indians and Sri Lankans. If producing a great performance on international stage is that easy i.e sticking to basics, why cant everyone do it right. Or is there more to this phrase than what it meets the eye (or hits the ear)? Lets explore what is sticking to the basics means to a batsman and to a bowler. Discuss!

[Sachinism]

Bowl back of a length, look to hit top of off stump or a 4th stump. Bat straight, leave wide balls

[vvvslaxman]

Not overtrying? Ashwin for instance against England tried far too many variations .While batting again not flashing wide balls, not getting in line anything that you do that will increase the probability of getting out.

[kubrickian]

Batting - playing as straight as possible, move feet to the pitch of the ball, play close to the body and dont play shots away from the body. Once you are used to the conditions and ball is not doing much, you can play shots against loose deliveries. Take as many singles as you can. Bowling - bowl good length, slightly fuller length, bowl on off stump or fourth stump, try to get batsman to drive and get caught behind or get caught in slips. Or if ball is not doing much, bowl a tight line and put pressure by not allowing runs. Of course, its easier said than done.

[Clarke]

It means fire John Buchanan types.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

that means, not doing anything flashy and rsky and wait for the opponent to make the mistake. this way you cannot come up with dominating performances.. on ur lucky day, you can get the opponents to make mistakes and capitalize on it. but there are more chances that the opponent will be smart and produce an unplayable delivery that will get you out right? so in my opinion one should also take calculated risk rather than just sticking to the bascs in order to be successful

[Dinx - the Jinx]

Going by this logic, people like Sehwag, Gayle, Dhoni among batsmen and Malinga, Naraine, Ashwin would not be as successful as they are

[Old guy]

have good basics like good wrist position ,run up etc and after that just put the ball in right area .. good example was sreesanth when he stick to this he got wickets when he jumped across crease and bowled useless bouncers,cutters etc he went for runs

[gattaca]

That means dont innovate. Yes basics are needed but what abt innovation in bowling.

[Prakat]

It's a good strategy when the pitch is doing something and conditions are helpful for bowlers. Keep it simple on flat tracks and you will get tonked all over all day. That is when you have to start thinking specific strategies.

[Old guy]

It's a good strategy when the pitch is doing something and conditions are helpful for bowlers. Keep it simple on flat tracks and you will get tonked all over all day. That is when you have to start thinking specific strategies.

depends on format really sometimes in tests best thing to do on flat track is choke the runs by good right bowling in odis at death u do have to mix things up but one can very well cal bowling full and straight yorkers as keeping it simple :--D

[Sidhoni]

Going by this logic' date=' people like Sehwag, Gayle, Dhoni among batsmen and Malinga, Naraine, Ashwin would not be as successful as they are[/quote'] Sticking to basics doesn't mean having copy book technique. Those people also keep things simple in their own way, they know their strengths and weaknesses and would not try and do things which are unfamiliar to them.

[youngindia]

Going by this logic' date=' people like Sehwag, Gayle, Dhoni among batsmen and Malinga, Naraine, Ashwin would not be as successful as they are[/quote'] :haha: some posters got it all wrong. totally wrong understanding its all about building a strong foundation at a young age.there are basic concepts in any field. without a strong foundation, the entire structure is prone to collapse.you build a foundation and then expand on it. that's the point. an analog to "stick to basics" at the work place would be - keep putting dedicated efforts,coommunicate clearly and amicably,expand your area of expertise,expand soft skills,maintain good inter personal relations,understand the business,align with company vision. this is what keeping it simple means. you think innovators don't do all these? as for the likes of sehwag, he does some basics right.playing with a straight bat, keeping a eye on the ball , excellent timer.he is flawed only in few areas like playing away from body and feet movement. you cannot say the flaws didn't totally cost them . it does in some ways.without those flaws, they may have even reached higher. its all right to gush about Federer's excellent shots. but they all stem from his control of the racquet face he mastered for over 20 years. building a foundation does not mean you don't innovate. you start expanding once you are confident about the basics after you practiced a lot ,even years. you see youngsters like baba aparajith. they don't have the shots to take apart an attack right now,.but with exposure to top level cricket, they can expand on their game and develop shots later. even kohli was a failure in first 3 IPLs.but in the CT he was depositing broad into the stands on a lively surface few years later ,after he developed some shots and better striking ability.

[Prakat]

@OP is this in context of a game or a career? Mohit at the presentation said that he was keeping it simple when asked what his gameplan was in the match when he was bowling.

[Prakat]

depends on format really sometimes in tests best thing to do on flat track is choke the runs by good right bowling in odis at death u do have to mix things up but one can very well cal bowling full and straight yorkers as keeping it simple :--D

I think keeping it simple should also have an aspect of simplicity in practice and not just in terms of strategy. Not in "bolna aasaan hai" territory!

[rkt.india]

Keeping it simple in terms of bowling is what McGrath did all his career.

[Temujin Khaghan]

Stick to the basics and keep it simple - what does this actually mean? missionary position :two_thumbs_up:

[singhprakash72]

It probably means (for the winning captain during presentation ceremonies) .."i am too tired to come up with any s**t and hopefully comparer won't ask me any further questions."

[maniac]

Well few examples from the top of my head Dhoni over-shuffling his bowlers at times to give away the momentum-Especially with part-timers Ashwin trying too many things when he is not getting assistance from the pitch or things not going his way People trying Dilscoop to try and accelrate-Most famous example Misbah's shot in T20 2007 WC-I am glad he did what he did but in my worst nightmares I can see him trying to go straight down the ground against Dibbly-Dobbly joginder Sharma Also at times Over bowling to a batsman's weakness-Attacking Leg stump for Ganguly,SHort-pitch to Raina etc(unfortunately this ploy hasnt back fired so far on the opposition :facepalm:) Sending a Pinch Hitter at times when not neccsary Ponting is not a great captain but i will give him credit to sticking with a plan thanks to the team he had-This is where South Africa have choked despite having almost equally competitive teams in the past. These are somethings I can think off

[Haarkarjeetgaye]

it means enough of fixing. get back to real cricket