If it swings, you will play and miss. That much is a given. You will play and miss but then as the greats do, put the ball out of your mind...
If it swings, you will play and miss. That much is a given. You will play and miss but then as the greats do, put the ball out of your mind, take guard again and concentrate on the next ball. For when the ball is swinging, you need to give your full concentration to every delivery. The ball never stops swinging and the batsman can never stop concentrating.
Of course, the odd unplayable delivery will still get you. But that, as they say, is the rub of the green. It’s harder to judge a swinging delivery than it looks – no one is saying it is easy. But somehow it looks like the way Indians play swing has regressed in this generation of cricketers.
It wasn’t always a given that Indian batsmen will struggle badly against swing bowling. Yes, India still lost a few series but some might reckon that it was because their bowling wasn’t as good as it is now. The batting, however, was something India could always fall back on.
That comfort now seems to be gone. The 0-2 loss against New Zealand was the latest in a long line of struggles against swing bowling that have haunted this generation of Indian batsmen.
