Flexibility seems to be the in-thing in cricket today. Gone are the days where a batsman knew before a game where he was likely to be batting. In the context of Indian cricket, Greg Chapell first came up with this idea and its now being taken forward by MS Dhoni. Samir Chopra on Cricinfo reccently suggested that batsman needed to bat at fixed positions, but they should be able to change their game depending on the situation of the match. This in theory is a fantastic proposition but can it be implemented successfully?
Total football was a strategy that gained a lot of interest in the fifties and sixties The Hungarian side which had amongst others the great Ferenc Puskas believed that all players needed to be able to play in all positions. The theory believed that a defender should be equally adept at attacking as he was in defending. That Hungary side came closest to actually translating this theory into successful performance. But in the end the theory died out. People realized that it was next to impossible to master every skill possible. After all different players have different strengths.
Let us say for example that Suresh Raina gets the go-ahead to be India's number 3 batsman. Then even in the event of playing in conditions were the ball is swinging and seaming, Raina should be able to combat the seaming ball as well as Rahul Dravid. If this was indeed true, it would undoubtedly be fantastic. But this happening is extremely unlikely.
India at times in the world cup seemed to experiment a little too much even when it was clearly not required. I reckon India will be better served by having a stable batting order that can be flexible if the situation demands it.
Total football was a strategy that gained a lot of interest in the fifties and sixties The Hungarian side which had amongst others the great Ferenc Puskas believed that all players needed to be able to play in all positions. The theory believed that a defender should be equally adept at attacking as he was in defending. That Hungary side came closest to actually translating this theory into successful performance. But in the end the theory died out. People realized that it was next to impossible to master every skill possible. After all different players have different strengths.
Let us say for example that Suresh Raina gets the go-ahead to be India's number 3 batsman. Then even in the event of playing in conditions were the ball is swinging and seaming, Raina should be able to combat the seaming ball as well as Rahul Dravid. If this was indeed true, it would undoubtedly be fantastic. But this happening is extremely unlikely.
India at times in the world cup seemed to experiment a little too much even when it was clearly not required. I reckon India will be better served by having a stable batting order that can be flexible if the situation demands it.
