Kookaburra insist World Cup run-fest will be England’s fault, not down to their balls
Cricket ball manufacturers Kookaburra insist a blow out in scores at this World Cup won’t be down to them, it’s just England is the easiest place to score, and their team are freakish run machines.
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Kookaburra says its white balls are not the catalyst for the World Cup’s anticipated batting onslaught, with England simply the easiest place in the world to bat given its flat pitches and small boundaries.
While scores in England, and by England, have blown out recently, a deeper analysis shows it is still very difficult for countries to score at a run a ball elsewhere in the world.
England’s ambitious claim it was targeting a world-record 500 runs dominated pre-tournament headlines. And the host nation is in its own stratosphere when it comes to plundering runs.
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Captain Eoin Morgan’s freakish batting line-up hit 300 runs in seven out of its 12 innings (58.3 per cent) leading into the World Cup and posted 8/311 in Thursday’s win against South Africa.
But out of the rest of the world’s combined 156 innings in completed ODIs before the World Cup, only 28 (17.9 per cent) reached 300 runs.
“We’ve always said that pitch conditions are the biggest factor in high or low scoring, not the ball,” Kookaburra spokesman Shannon Gill said.
“These figures confirm that, because sub-300 scores are still the norm, and as we saw on the weekend, when conditions are balanced bowlers can dominate.
“We’ve seen swing from New Zealand (Trent Boult), pace and bounce from the West Indies and spin from Bangladesh play a role to win World Cup games.
“We’re happy that our balls are giving all types of bowlers their moment if they perform.”
It was feared there would be no swing on offer in England, but Aussie Marcus Stoinis said the ball stayed hard and he found some movement during the middle overs against Afghanistan on Saturday.
Including the World Cup warm-up games, 46 per cent of recent innings played in England have gone for at least 300. That drops to just 17.5 per cent everywhere else in the world.
Three out of 10 World Cup innings (30 per cent) have hit 300 runs so far, although Australia, West Indies and New Zealand were all on track before finishing games by reaching their small targets.
After five games no player has smashed a century — the longest wait at a World Cup since Sachin Tendulkar broke through with 140 in the 15th game way back in 1999.
It has been a modest start for batsmen, but that is largely because of weaker teams getting bowled out first.
England’s batting power has it a clear tournament favourite with its frequency of smashing 300 runs almost tripling the global average.
“(I think) 260-270 is going to be as difficult to get in a World Cup as chasing 380 or 370,” Indian captain Virat Kohli, who’s country is yet to play, said.
“You’ll see 250 defended as well, that’s the kind of pressure the World Cup brings. No one’s going to go gung-ho right from ball one in pressure games of a World Cup.”
Aussie great Brett Lee said cricket was not ready for a 500-run innings.
“That (500) means the ball isn’t swinging, it means that the wicket is flat and it’s all well and good to see sixes hit left, right and centre on small grounds … but I want enough there for the bowlers,” Lee said.
“About 280-300 is a good one-day score. Enough for the bowlers, bit of turn, we see some sixes, everyone wins.”
World Cup games feature two new white Kookaburra balls (one from each end), which rules out reverse swing but Lee said was a good idea.
Originally published as Kookaburra insist World Cup run-fest will be England’s fault, not down to their balls
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