Evolution of the Challenge of Batting in Australia

The timeless wisdom of cricket dictates that one must always adapt to the playing conditions. While there may be the occasional exceptional performance that transcends external factors, for the most part, success in challenging situations demands a resilient and determined approach. Unfortunately, it seems that India may be losing sight of this fundamental principle.

The consensus in India is that the wickets in Australia are generally true and once you get used to the bounce, there are runs on offer. But since December 2021, things have changed and much of that is down to the new Kookaburra ball.

In 2021, Kookaburra released a redesigned ball for Test cricket that was supposed to make the game more exciting, but it has only made batting more difficult. A plastic lining was added under the seam to make it stand up and stay harder for longer. An extra layer of lacquer was applied to the ball to harden it, and even though the new ball had the same weight, shape and seam as the previous Kookaburra Turf ball, the game changed.

The new Kookaburra ball makes seam bowling, and the wobble ball, more effective. That alone would have been enough but Steve Smith reckons that the wickets Down Under have got greener as well.

“Well, I think since 2021 when they changed the Kookaburra ball, batting has definitely got more difficult, particularly I think at the same time wickets got greener as well,” said Smith on Sunday. “So, it’s kind of like a perfect storm coming together.”

This would have required India’s batters to reevaluate their batting strategy but it doesn’t seem like they have. KL Rahul is an exception there and Yashasvi Jaiswal, in the second innings at Perth, showed he can play the steady game too. But they haven’t done it often enough, at least the top order hasn’t.

In the first innings at Perth, India were 73/6 after 31.4 overs. At Adelaide, India were 109/6 and 153/8. Here, in Brisbane, 74/5. You need a bit of luck for sure but that too needs to be earned.

“Particularly the first 35 overs of an innings is very challenging at the moment with the significant seam movement. But then kind of, I think the ball stays hard,” said Smith. “So, if you get through that period, the ball still bounces off the bat a lot harder than it used to. I think the last three years has probably been the hardest that I’ve experienced in my career.”

And that is saying something considering how long Smith has been around. This isn’t just a hunch though. The numbers, crunched by CricViz, show that it all adds up.

A look at two periods of Tests played in Australia — from the start of the 2016 Australian home summer until the start of the 2021 Ashes and from the start of the 2021 Ashes until the second India-Australia Test (this Brisbane Test not included) — shows just how things have changed.

The batting average has gone down from 32.08 to 26.66; from 19 totals over 400, it has come down to just 9. The averages show a big downturn as well — the openers are only averaging 28.9 as against 38.1 and the No.3-4 batters are doing just a little better at 33.5 as against 43.8 previously.

These are signs that to cope with the amount of movement that’s been generated, batters should err on the side of caution. Rahul, who has been India’s best batter in the series, feels it all comes down to tightening the defence.

“It’s a long series, so we’ve played three games, five innings now,” said Rahul on Tuesday. “So, I’m sure everyone will go back and come up with their own plans the next time we bat or in the next couple of games.

“The only thing you can do in the first 30 overs is to tighten up your defence, try and respect that the first 30 overs is the bowler’s time and give them their time. Leave balls, try and play as tight as possible and then really try to cash in once the ball gets older. So, that’s my plan and that’s pretty simple.”

And given that it has worked for Rahul, it is pretty much a cue for the others to pick what they need from his game plan and make their time in the middle count. For if they don’t, India could be in big trouble.