Bowlers beware! High totals loom in T20 World Cup | Cricket News

If the bigger boundaries at most grounds the spirit of bowlers converging on Australia for the T20 World Cupare doing well to temper their optimism with a deluge of runs predicted by some from the tournament’s Super 12 stage.
Cricket’s shortest format is unapologetically bat-biased and bowlers, often cast as cannon fodder, derive almost as much enjoyment from a bat as they would from a dismissal in ODIs or Tests.
However, ground measurements suggest shots that will clear the boundary in most stadiums in the sub-continent and New Zealand may not even make the cut in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
However, the New Zealand coach, Gary Stead, expects that bowlers will still have their work cut out for them when the world’s best batsmen start firing.

Image Credit: T20 World Cup
“I think what T20 cricket has definitely done is make teams much more comfortable chasing bigger scores,” the 50-year-old said on Sunday.
“So yeah, you’re going to have to bowl very, very well if you’re defending scores of 150-170 now, and that was shown in the tri-series (in Christchurch) as well.”
Having played in the first World Cup in 2007, India captain Rohit Sharma has seen up close how the game has evolved over the years and he believes the trend towards higher totals is likely to continue even in Australia.
“You can literally see how it is played now compared to how it was in 2007,” Rohit said at the pre-tournament captains’ news conference.
“Back then 140 or 150 was a good score and now people try to get that score in 14 or 15 overs.
“Teams are taking more risks (now) without worrying about the result and I think that’s a good way to play this format.”

Image Credit: T20 World Cup
This is how the inaugural champions India would play under him in the tournament, the 35-year-old added.
“It’s the kind of format where there’s risk, but there’s also high rewards,” he added.
“We have to be brave enough to take those risks and certainly be willing to do that as well.”
India’s preparation included devising ways to score freely, even when hitting sixes is not so easy – as they found during practice matches in Perth and Brisbane where several batsmen were caught near the rope.
“You have to be smart when you plan your batting on grounds like this,” explained Rohit.
“Of course hitting boundaries and sixes sounds nice, but you can’t forget to hit the ball in the gap, run really hard between the wickets and try to get eight-nine runs in an over.”