It is often said that “Batters set up matches, while bowlers win them”. The adage is particularly significant for Test cricket, where taking 20 wickets is the most important part of winning the game.
Over the years, we have seen some formidable bowling attacks dominate different periods of the game. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, comprising Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts and Colin Croft, are one of the most talked-about bowling attacks in history. Their relentless pace struck fear into the minds of even the greatest batters in the 1970s and 80s. Another attack that earned legendary status is the Australian quartet of Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne. The blend of accuracy, seam movement, express pace and leg-spin in this combination made it unique and particularly difficult for the opposition to negotiate.
These two combinations and many more in the history of cricket show us that a great attack is not always about four bowlers doing the same thing. The strength of an attack comes from the different problems its members can create.
The ability of an attack to ask different questions was evident from the Australians in the recently finished Durban Test against South Africa. While chasing 421, Wiaan Mulder and Aiden Markram turned up on the final day with the resolve to make the day longer for the visitors. Australia had to toil for an hour and 50 minutes before Josh Hazlewood dismissed Mulder and broke the 205-ball partnership. Then, with the second new ball, Hazlewood picked up the wickets of Marco Jansen and Simon Harmer in the same over.
Mitchell Starc dismissed Markram, South Africa’s last major resistance, and the innings was brought to a close by Hazlewood, who accounted for Anrich Nortje. Hazlewood claimed his Test-best figures of 6/49 and was subsequently praised by skipper Pat Cummins for his willingness to persevere through difficult passages of play. While he took the spotlight, the impact of the line-up came from the combined effort of all four. The quartet picked up 17 wickets in the match at an average of 22.18.
During the Durban Test, the combination of Cummins-Hazlewood-Starc-Lyon reached 600 wickets while playing 38 Tests together. They are the first four-man bowling combination to achieve the feat. They have now picked up 615 wickets in these 38 matches, at an average of 25.31 and a strike rate of 52.71.
The striking feature is the fact that the three pacers have similar strike rates. Each of them picks up a wicket nearly every eighth over, yet their methods are vastly different.
Different methods, shared responsibility
The Starc-Hazlewood element in this attack is particularly intriguing. Starc brings the left-arm angle, looking to trouble the batters with pace and swing when the cherry is new. There is a flair and flamboyance about him when he is on song.
Hazlewood is quite the contrary, relying on accuracy and bounce off the track. Their methods appear markedly different. While Hazlewood has bowled more maidens and has been considerably more economical, Starc has been the more penetrative option in the first ten overs. A clear example of walking towards the same peak through different paths.
If a couple of batters survive Starc and Hazlewood, Cummins comes through. Whenever there is a partnership developing, he has been the biggest asset of this combination. In situations where a partnership of 50 has developed for the opposition, Cummins has had the highest wicket-taking rate. In these scenarios, he picks up about 12 wickets every 100 overs. Lyon has the greater wicket tally at 36, but his wickets per 100 overs are around nine.
The Australian skipper has an uncanny knack for troubling even set batters on the flattest tracks. His ability to make deliveries rise disconcertingly from a length, combined with seam movement and subtle yet effective changes of length, makes him an ideal bowler when Australia are troubled by a developing partnership.
Lyon’s tactical flexibility
Speaking about the spinner in this combination, Nathan Lyon provides the greatest tactical flexibility to the attack. In Asian conditions or where the ball is spinning, he is undoubtedly a formidable weapon. But on Australian pitches, where this quartet has played 26 of the 38 shared Tests, his ability to sustain protracted spells while not relinquishing control becomes special.
The off-spinner has bowled 1,609 overs in the 38 Tests, shouldering nearly 30% of the quartet’s combined workload. An average spell for Lyon lasts 6.24 overs, which is the longest, followed by Cummins, whose average spell lasts around 4.19 overs. So, even if Lyon is not picking up wickets, he is providing essential recovery time to the pacers while maintaining relentless pressure on the opposition.
How pressure travels between the two ends
Two bowlers often feed off each other. If one is bowling maidens and creating pressure, it is often assumed to result in a wicket for the other.
When we tested it for this combination, the finding was that after one bowler bowls a maiden, there is a decrease in the scoring rate rather than a noticeable rise in wickets. The scoring rate in the following over was around 7.3% lower after a maiden. In the case of Starc bowling after Hazlewood, his economy was around 3.78 following other overs; however, after a maiden, that dropped to around 3.03.
Six pairings have dominated this era of Australian cricket. Among these, the Cummins-Starc pairing has been the most potent. They have picked up around 14 wickets every 100 overs. However, when it comes to sheer volume, Hazlewood and Starc have produced the most wickets, 118. There is a fascinating insight in this case also. While Starc has been their highest wicket-taker in overs 1-10, Hazlewood has topped the chart when it comes to overs from the 81st onwards.
After the Durban Test, Cummins said, “It’s (about) knowing it’s not going to happen forever and relish it while it’s happening.”
Indeed, everything does come to an end. This Australian quartet has given the fans a taste of how variety, bowling partnerships, physical endurance and tactical flexibility allow four different outstanding bowlers to become a cohesive attack. All four of these players are in their 30s and approaching the dusk of their careers. Fans must relish and enjoy the synergy of this quartet as its entropy increases and it gradually reaches its inevitable end.