Feeling the pinch

Pinch-hitters are an interesting breed. Most have an unassuming trait but once they walk to the crease, they develop beastly instincts and wreak havoc in the opposition camps. They are like wolves in sheep’s clothing. The disguise is often a ploy to catch the rivals off-guard. Proof of their savagery is best chronicled in the 1992 and 1996 editions of the World Cup.
The portly Mark Greatbatch and the ebony-hued Sanath Jayasuriya are the torchbearers of an ilk that is heading towards extinction.Both these southpaws added a new dimension to cricket with their attacking strokeplay. If Greatbatch hogged the spotlight in the ‘92 World Cup, four years later, Jayasuriya grabbed headlines with his power play. Interestingly, both were pitchforked as openers. While Greatbatch had been a regular at No. 4 for New Zealand, Jayasuriya was a lower-order batsman, who also bowled left-arm spin.
The emergence of these two left-handed batsmen had a lot to do with the tactical acumen of two brilliant captains of their times — Martin Crowe and Arjuna Ranatunga. If Crowe held sway in the ‘92 World Cup not only with his batting abilities but also pulling surprises in the form of Greatbatch as opener and opening the attack with an off-spinner (Dipak Patel), Ranatunga went a step further in the next edition by unleashing a double-whammy. Two pinch-hitters — wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana and Jayasuriya — opened the innings and the results were astounding.
Team continued to toy with pinch-hitters but the temptation to maximise the potential of premier batsmen in the first 15 overs saw the birth of one-day cricket’s biggest batting exponents. Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul all of whom had batted in the middle-order in the start of their respective careers were among the biggest draws.
None made a more spectacular entry than Gilchrist. After languishing in the lower-order for 15 months since making his debut, he blasted a century in his first outing as an opener — Tri-series final against South Africa in Sydney.
The pinch-hitter paled into insignificance as exceptional batting talents took charge. They could not only swing their bats but also play the conventional shots. The pinch-hitter almost vanished in the 1999 and 2003 World Cup championships. It also threw up a theory that they only flourished on benign pitches, which were on offer in New Zealand (‘92) and the Indian sub-continent (‘96). The seaming conditions in England (‘99) and bouncy turfs in South Africa (‘03) justified that theory further when pinch-hitters were traded for batsmen with sound technique and stability.
With the passage of time the bowlers too became smarter. So much so that rival captains sense an opportunity whenever a pinch-hitter walks to the crease. The pinch-hitter, in fact, sports a different tag these days — multi-utility players. Batsmen themselves have begun to accelerate at the drop of run rates, wicketkeepers are frequently flexing their batting muscle and bowlers too wield the willow with telling effect. The advent of Twenty20 has dented the role of a pinch-hitter further. Now top order batsmen themselves trigger the run blasts. 100 runs are being creamed in ten overs with alarming regularity. With so much on board, the pinch-hitter is really feeling the pinch.
Yet, that doesn’t mean teams have shied away from pinch-hitters. Irfan Pathan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India), Shane Watson (Australia), Dwayne Bravo (West Indies), Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal (Pakistan), Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram (New Zealand), Andrew Flintoff (England), Mark Boucher (South Africa) are all multi-utility players, who have been tested at pinch-hitters too. All will be jostling for attention in the Caribbean Islands when the ninth chapter of the quadrennial cricketing extravaganza unfolds on March 11.
If reports from the West Indies are to be believed, the pitches are likely to be placid and slower in nature. Who knows it could pave way for the resurrection of the pinch-hitter.