ICC World T20 2014: Australia need to alter their strategy

George Bailey has preferred chasing on subcontinental conditions, of late © Getty Images

By Gaurav Joshi

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One of the advises Ian Chappell’s grandfather Victor Richardson gave him on captaincy was “son, if you win the toss nine of the ten times, bat first on the 10^th occasion, think about bowling first but still bat first”. It has been the philosophy that has been passed down the generation of Australian cricket captains.

It has been a definite strategy in Test cricket till this date, apart from the solitary event in the 2005 Ashes series at Edgbaston. Similarly, it has been adopted in the shorter formats of the game, especially in the subcontinent where pitches aid turn in the second part of the game.

Australia’s record itself is perfect reasoning for the bat first approach in the sub-continent. Over the past ten years since tours to sub-continent became frequent, Australia have won the toss and batted first on 25 occasions while opting to bowl first only on 7 occasions. The winning percentage after winning the toss and electing to bat first is 57% while the percentage is below 50% when electing to chase.

But over the past six months, Australia under the captaincy of George Bailey have a different outlook. They have preferred to chase instead as they did in the opening game of the ICC World T20 2014 against Pakistan which resulted in the 16-run loss.

“Not sure we’ve ever had that philosophy in T20. It probably changed a little bit in that one-day series (in India) as well.”  It was an indication Australia were deterred by the opposition rather than backing their own strength.

Australia’s record while chasing in T20Is or in the ODI format in the sub-continent is disappointing, so electing to bowl first has always looked like a slight gamble. In T20Is, Australia have registered one win and three losses.

One of the issues Australia has had in chasing scores in T20 or ODI format is that they are yet to find a replacement for the perfect finishers like Michael Bevan or Michael Hussey.

Despite Australia winning some games chasing in the past few years, they have either cantered home or snatched a win from precarious moments like James Faulkner at The Gabba and Mohali.

None of the chases have been well-executed or planned. The same issue seem to surface during their first match of the World T20 against Pakistan. At one stage, Australia required 74 runs from 58 balls with eight wickets in hand. Batting with such depth should have swallowed that up; instead they allowed the pressure to build and self-destructed.

Australia’s chasing tactics, of late, seems to be either bludgeon your way to the target which is perfectly fine but this high-risk game often works against you as well.

Bailey, of all people, is the man who can play that Bevan or Hussey role and if the captain is going to continue to gamble on chasing in the sub-continent, he needs to ensure that he is there right until the last over so that the other hard hitters can bat around him.

Bailey at the press conference suggested Australia never had an outlook of always batting first. “I think if you look at the statistics for this ground, and this tournament, it gets a little easier to bat on as the night progresses. I don’t think we necessarily have a way that we want to do it. It’s more about summing up the situation, summing up the conditions depending on where you are.”

Everything Bailey stated had logic to it but the records seem to reflect otherwise. Perhaps it is time to revert back to the strategy of batting first and relying on the much disciplined bowlers and brilliant fielders.

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(Gaurav Joshi is an Indian-born Australian who played with Michael Clarke in his junior days. He coaches and reports for a Sydney radio station. Over the years he has freelanced for Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and is a regular on ABC cricket show Cow Corner. He is the author of the book “Teen Thunder Down Under” – The inside story of India’s 2012 U19 World Cup Triumph)