In this article let’s take a look at whether batting order really matter in cricket or not and what betting order is all about in detail.
So let’s get started.
Does batting order matter in cricket?
If I have to answer this question in simple words then I would say, YES, batting order definitely matters a lot in cricket.
Having the right players in the right positions in the order gives a batting side the best chance of constructing a strong innings, score high runs, and set the right target or chase the runs in second innings & win not just single matches or series but tournaments.
Let’s take a look at Test cricket for example, during the start of innings on day one in the test cricket because the ball which is used is red ball and it is fresh and hard so the red ball will usually swing and seam more on the day one because of hardness, because of this, the opening batsmen who are 1 & 2 of the opponent team has to have a good defence technique, disciplined, they must be able to play the ball which is swinging in the air and they also need to be a lot patient, determined, they should control their natural shots and leave the ball consistently in the first 10 to 15 overs of day one of the test match.
- Click here to read why test match is so difficult but best format of the game in detail
In this case, because there are different kind of conditions such as ball is swinging In the air and there will be some help from the pitch like bounce then the batsman will have to adapt quickly so opening the innings of the test match requires different skill set compared to batting at number 4 or 5 because at that period the ball becomes a lot softer and there will be less help from the pitch so batting gets easy.
Correct batting order and sequence of players is very important in order to score good runs and win matches.
And it is also important to notice that the batting order & what player will play at what number in the team will depend upon the format of the game for example in Test cricket the batting order will be totally different and there will be different players in test team compared to ODI and T20 game.
For example, in test team the openers of the batting side will be a lot more patient and conservative and they will have strong defence technique because the ball will be moving a lot more in the air, there are plenty of over available to score runs and test game is a lot more difficult because
it is very long but when it comes to limited-overs of the game such as T20 because there are only 20 overs to play for both the team’s the opening batsman will focus less on defensive and, try to capitalise and score more runs in the 1st power play.
At the same time batting order is also very important for example in Test cricket, if wrong type of players who are more attacking and less patient and conservative starts to play at top order then it is more likely that wickets will fall faster even though there is more chances of getting runs and when one or two wickets fall faster in the initial stages and
the openers get bowled out of the game then the middle order batsman will have to struggle in order to settle on the wicket and also face the new ball which is swinging in the air, and middle order batsman will usually have more attacking nature so they would try to hit shots or miss time the ball and get caught & lose their wicket and this can affect in scoring few runs in the first innings of the test match which can hurt the team while playing the second innings and set a challenging score for the opponent team in the second innings.
This is the reason why correct batting order is very important so that the right batsman will play at the right situation which can help team score more runs and move forward and also win matches.
In my opinion batting order can make or break the team and chances of victory or defeat because in batting order strengths and weaknesses of players will be considered and the players can get a chance to play with their strengths to get best potential out.
Conclusion
These are all the things you need to know about if batting order really matters in cricket or not.
Do let me know what are your thoughts about batting order in cricket and also share the article and if you are interested then you can check out other similar articles related to cricket and other sports like football on my website.