Zahirians Finished as Runner-up's

Innovations in the Srilankan Chempionship

It was survival instinct that drove players to look for cutting-edge tactics at the recently concluded Srilankan Championship. The second tournament has been nothing short of a discovery : unsettling yet determined shots, novel field positions and a whole new bag of tricks from the bowlers to hold them in good stead. That's what made the SCC a good show. Despite some ordinary cricket, there were also some splashes of brilliance. Here are our observations from the tournament.

 Starting with the three fielder's inside the circle

teams had the three fielder inside the ring and pushed the square-leg fielder back to the boundary right from the beginning. This is not how teams have traditionally begun innings, preferring instead to have the fielder beside the square-leg umpire save singles and the fine leg, though slightly squarer, back on the boundary.bowlers don’t mind conceding singles because a single is as good as a dot ball in short format cricket.

Bowling short


There was plenty of the short-pitched stuff throughout the innings. Yes, the extra bounce on Jumairah pitches may have encouraged the bowlers to bang it in short but that's not the only reason. Most batsmen, regardless of there clubs, were in obvious discomfort against chin music. While the Frico from Ajman used it to good effect against the Zahirians, Mohammed Faris bowled at least a foot shorter against LKS SC. The more you see matches in these conditions, the clearer it becomes that it’s not only the batsmen from the Dubai's Club who aren’t great players of short-pitched stuff and that they have company. No bowler can get away with bowling just one-dimensional short-pitched stuff, though, but there is no harm in making the batsman smell leather every now and then.

 Playing straight

The teams from Dubai and Ajman have taught a lesson in batting to the rest of the sides only if they choose to notice. While the players from these clubs are good off the back foot and play horizontal bat shots, they have shown the value of hitting straight down the ground with a vertical bat, as opposed to their counterparts from the clubs who are guilty of looking to score only square of the wicket. Yes, there’s bounce to deal with but a half volley is a half volley on all surfaces and should be hit straight. Also, since teams keep the mid-off and mid-on fielder really wide on bouncy surfaces, there’s a huge gap in the front to get maximum value for shots. Dubai teams are yet to utilise this to its full potential.

Results

JBS SC - Champions
DZCC  - Runner-up's
LKS C - Third Place
FRICO- Fourth Place

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