Heavy bats, short boundaries and flat pitches have ensured it is raining 'six' in the IPL
However, when we contemplate, these 'six' have no meaning in the larger context of the game. They leave no lasting impact and are mere statistics.
So much so one tends to agree when William Rees-Mogg says,
"A well-hit six at a critical point in a Test match can indeed come as a thrilling surprise; it is a meaningful part of the struggle, but even a good six can be meaningless by repetition in Twenty20. Sixes can become a bore, like the battues of pheasants by the thousand at
For a 'six' to be meaningful it has to serve a larger purpose. Do you agree a last ball six that seals the win is worthier than one hit of the first ball?
18 comments:
we also have to give due consideration to the point that its coz of earlier 'boring sixes' hits that match need a last ball six...or whatever...
i don't mid it as long as they keep the regulation boundaries than shortening it. Then it becomes meaningless.
Pan,
Hmmm.. I see you do not agree. :)
Scorpi,
Exactly, what I was driving at. With short boundaries, the six is a four.:)
of course i agree OTT :)
but i was highlighting the importance of boring sixes as well ;-))
In sport, context is everything.
A six in the IPL is just as meaningless as the seventh ODI in a Pak-Bangladesh seven match series which Pak wins 7-0.
Unless of course, the pitches are tough and the boundaries are standard.
Pan,
O K. I get it.
John,
Exactly, I was trying to drive that point.
We find everything is made out to be record.
Ottayan,
As scorpicity mentioned, shortened boundaries makes the six meaningless... But sixes becomes important when we see how the chasing team uses them to reach the total.. (for example, strategy of hitting first ball to six in 3 consecutive overs when BRC chased mumbai indians was interesting)
Also six assume extra importance when it happens in a pitch that provides a contest between the bat and ball or a bowling wizard hoodwinked by batsman's talents..
- Robin
A six is a six is a six. Whenever its hit its a six.
By this does it mean that a single scrampered off the last ball to win a game is worth more than the quick single that was taken in the 4th over?
If the six of the 1st ball of the match was not hit, 12 runs would have been required of the last ball instead of the 6.
Both are worth the same.
The pressure surely is different.
Robin,
Exactly. A true value for a 'six' should be in the context (John's word) of the game.
Then why do we hear the ooh's and ha's for the number of sixes?
Q,
Aha! You have brought in a different dimension to the argument.
What you are saying is that sixes do matter in the context of winning.
Good I agree, then do they matter when you lose?
That again depends Ott. Its like asking, does a 100 matter if your team loses?
It really depends. For example a team chasing 300 is 50-5. The top order has failed, the number 7 knows that victory is out of the question. He comes in and blasts a 60 ball 100 and smashes 5 sixes.
For me, that innings holds no significance. It may be entertaining but from a cricketing point of view, insignificant.
Now say a team is chasing 300, the opener walks out and scores a 60 ball 100 and hits 5 sixes in the process. Even if the team loses, that innings was significant, as were the 6s.
Q,
Good. Now your talking about significance.
Two questions:
Has IPL as a tournamnet any significance?
Has a six in IPL any significance?
My answer to the significance of a 6 in the IPL is exactly what I've said above about a 6.
And the boundaries aren't that small. For some matches they are, others they aren't. Even some ODIs have had really short boundaries.
As for the IPL as a tournament. I reckon it is very significant. 20-20 leagues is the future of cricket and IPL's significance will be talked abt in history books for decades and centuries. Our great grandsons will read about how the IPL changed the face of cricket the way we know it. By then it might be 5-5 cricket but thats besides the point.
Sixes do matter but what they are doing is not hitting a six but merely caressing the ball over a shortened boundary. That too, secure in the thought that there are only close in fieldrs in the initial overs, a zero risk stroke.
ottayan,
Q's 12 of the last ball instead of 6 sums it up.
As did David Hussey's 6s at eden.
True indeed, Ottayan. Last ball sixes, esp. while chasing is magicall and comes with a thril comparable to none other.
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