Published: Aug 21, 2015, 03:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 21, 2015, 03:40 PM (IST)
Tom Latham is more of a textbook batsman. His game is heavily reliant on orthodox shots and he is characterised by a certain solidity in the way he bats. All these qualities come to him at the expense of a quick scoring rate. However, Rishad D’Souza feels New Zealand should continue to persist with Latham in limited-overs’ formats and must encourage his solidity. ALSO READ: Tom Latham, Martin Guptill enter record books
A new fearlessness has taken over world cricket with regards to batsmen’s approach to the game. The emphasis has shifted from defence and caution towards more aggression. 350s have become the new 300s in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). One country that deserves major credit for this revolutionary change in attitude is New Zealand.
Led by Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand batsmen furthered their depths of aggression. Seeing the success achieved by them, other teams have taken to the strategy and it has now become the norm. At a time like this, to include a player like Tom Latham, who is defined by caution rather than aggression, may seem backward.
However, someone in the mould of the old-fashioned cricketer, who grinds for his runs and provides a sense of security at one end, is far more important than it seems. The drawback of the aggressive brand of cricket that teams play today is that the threat of a collapse perennially lurks round the corner.
One good, probing period is all the bowlers need to make mince of the entire batting line up when they are in an aggressive mode. At a time like this, the value of a level-headed batsman who can try to assume control of the situation cannot be overstated.
When the going gets tough for a side, such batsmen can take the edge off the bowlers and put them off their lines by boring them to point of annoyance. This allows the other batsmen to cash in on the disconcerted bowlers, and play their natural game. It is this very trait that made Rahul Dravid a very effective batsman even in ODIs (ask Shoaib Akhtar about it). His vigilance at one end provided his partners the security to go about their jobs against blunted bowling attacks.
This is the very trait that can make Latham an indispensible asset to the New Zealand ODI side. Latham should not come under pressure, either by his own mind (to compete with the modern batsmen) or by his team, to change his style of batting. He is just beginning to come terms with the fact that he is a different batsman and is starting to score healthy amounts of runs. If he continues in this fashion, he could add to New Zealand’s formidability.
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RDcric on Twitter)
