Fast bowlers will need a varied skillset to conquer the “tired” pitches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia’s Pat Cummins said yesterday ahead of their Twenty20 World Cup opener against South Africa tomorrow.
The pacers would be a worried lot heading into the World Cup looking for ways to master the dry and slow pitches in the UAE, which has split warm-up matches with Oman, but hosts the rest of the tournament from tomorrow’s start of the Super 12 stage.
The UAE also hosted the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which concluded on Friday last week, meaning fast bowlers face the prospect of toiling on worn pitches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
Photo: AP
“A couple of wickets have been tired and a couple times you get some really good wickets,” Cummins told a virtual news conference sharing his experience from his side’s warm-up matches. “In Twenty20, you got to have a few different varieties. Bowling with a new ball up front is going to look quite different to how you bowl in the end, so you’ve got to be able to adapt and have two or three different spells within the 20 overs.”
The 28-year-old, who is returning to competitive cricket after more than five months, said that conditions in the UAE would significantly differ depending on match timing and bowlers would need to adjust accordingly.
“The night games tend to be a bit more batter-friendly. There’s a bit of dew around and the ball skids on, whereas the day games are a bit drier,” he said. “I think the biggest difference is when we talk about it being dry. That kind of brings in the slower balls. Night games, if they start sliding on, you’ve got to look at other options. Maybe it’s yorkers, bouncers, and try different deliveries where the pitch is friendly for us bowlers.”
In Group B yesterday, Bangladesh thrashed Papua New Guinea by 84 runs, putting them into the next round and sending their opponents home winless, while the Oman-Scotland match at the same ground in Al Amerat was to decide the second team to advance from the group.
That game was to begin after press time last night.
In Group A, the winner of the Ireland-Namibia match today will advance to the Super 12 stage, while the night match at Sharjah pits the Netherlands, who cannot advance, against Sri Lanka, who have already qualified.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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