Published: Feb 14, 2019, 01:37 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 14, 2019, 01:36 PM (IST)
The incidents of team strategy’s being released/leaked to the media in other sports, especially in football, are commonplace but in cricket it’s rare, almost non-existent.
However, a TV broadcaster has gone to great lengths in revealing South Africa team’s strategy against Sri Lankan batsmen.
SuperSport, South Africa’s official cricket broadcaster for almost three decades, played an integral role into the revelations of the infamous Newlands ball-tampering scandal last year.
They are making the news again after revealing what would have been a secret dossier meant only for the South African camp.
Eagle-eyed viewers wasted no time in capturing a still shot from the TV broadcast that showed the home team’s strategy to deal with each Sri Lankan batsmen in detail.
Below is a plan to remove SL opener Dimuth Karunaratne.
“Plan A – in-swingers off stump, good length, shaping / angling in from around the wicket,” the plans read.
“Plan B – 4th stump slightly fuller length, angling away, drives away from the body after a bouncer.”
The decision to broadcast the plan must have rubbed the South African team the wrong way and is an interesting one considering there have been reports of rift in the relationship between the cricket officials and SuperSport.
It seems the strategy hasn’t worked out well for Faf du Plessis and his men with Sri Lanka finishing the opening day of the first Test in a fairly strong position.
After bowling out South Africa to 235, the tourists were 49/1 when the bails were drawn.
