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Kevin Pietersen suggested that the game has now evolved to being a ‘smackers’ game, with Test match batting skills being on the decline.
More batters have adopted a more aggressive approach in Test match cricket. (Image: Sportzpics)
With the rise of T20 cricket, gone are the days where we can see batters look to play out an entire session, with an aggressive batting approach being most side’s go-to in the longest format.
The former England captain and cricketer, Kevin Pietersen suggested that the game has now evolved to being a ‘smackers’ game, with Test match batting skills being on the decline. This was particularly prevalent after India’s disastrous batting show on home soil, where they suffered a 0-3 series defeat at the hands of New Zealand, where the Indian batters struggled to answer the challenge posed by the Kiwi spinners.
No one should be surprised by the lack of batting application and technique in Test Match cricket. Cricket is a ‘smackers’ game now and there is a disintegration of Test Match batting skill in the game.When it comes to playing spin, the only way, spend time playing against it…— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) November 4, 2024
As for solutions to help tackle India’s woes against spin. Pietersen suggested that the players look to put in the time against spinners in their net sessions to ensure that they can overcome their vulnerabilities.
India’s batting has also seen an evolution, which was seen in the final T20I against Bangladesh where the side looked to go after each and every delivery, finally getting a score of 297 runs in their 20 overs.
One of the best batters in the current side, Rishabh Pant has seen success against the best bowlers of the generation, by opting for an aggressive approach where he looked to take on the challenge, rather than look to play the long game.
England’s ‘Bazball’ which also adopts a similar approach, has seen the side witness some success as well, indicating that it might be the right way forward. But time and again, it has also been proven that there are situations in which the batters should go for a more defensive approach, something that was not prevalent, in the New Zealand series.
With such aggressive intent on display, it comes as no surprise that Test matches have seen more and more games being concluded with many days to spare.
With India under pressure, they would now hope that they can rework on their batting approach to ensure that they are able to topple the Aussies yet again. The two sides are set to meet in the upcoming five-match Test series in Australia, beginning later this month.