Some examples that show how ground conditions can affect players and results.

I have often wondered: “Why are Indian batsmen generally stronger at the leg side when compared to batsmen from other continents?” Yes there are exceptions, but it is a widely acknowledged trend.

Consider this: If I ask you to hit a gong with as much power as possible, how would you do it? I believe that the flow of your body would be similar to a batsman playing a pull shot over square leg boundary. So, even while playing cricket, a young batsman would try to play the pull shot on the easiest of balls. If it is a natural tendency, why do Indians do it more than others?

One possible reason could be that subcontinent pitches aren’t that fast and bouncy. During the formative years, a young Indian batsman doesn’t have the same fears of injuries and getting hit which an English player might have. So an Indian teenage-player would probably hit 4/10 balls towards leg, while an English player might done so only 3/10 times. By the time they grow up, the Indian would have played a lot more on leg side and so he is more adept at playing those shots on the same kind of balls.

The above line of argument could also help explain why Indians are not that good a hooker of the bouncing delivery. Reason, as above, is that during their formative years, they faced a relatively less number of such balls.

Now, that also explains why we play spin better. Isn’t it amazing how natural conditions, which are beyond human control, shape a player? Of course there are players like Rahul Dravid who rise above such limitations based on their solid techniques. But don’t you sometimes wonder, how different a Dravid or a Sachin would have been had they been raised in England?

Cricket, in this respect, is very different from many other ball games. You do see some parallels in Tennis though. But cricket goes a step further in diversity and allows for ground dimensions to change at very venue. Ground dimensions have important impacts on the team formation and strategy.

In the recent match against Australia in Champions Trophy, we saw Harbhajan switching ends with Amit Mishra because the square leg boundary was farther from the side he bowled.

In the World cup 1991 match against Australia India needed 4 runs of the last ball. Srinath hit the ball high in the air, his catch was dropped at the boundary. The whole of India, across the ocean, shouted “Run, Raju Run”. I believe that Venkatpathy Raju must have heard those voices. They could run only 2 and we lost the match by 1 run. Had the same match been in Auckland instead of Brisbane, that shot from Srinath would have been a six. Such are the vagaries of this beautiful game.