Captaincy from the couch: Left-field decisions MS Dhoni will never take

MS Dhoni

In this alternate reality, MS Dhoni is more ‘Captain Coot’ than ‘Captain Cool’, but, as that one chap said, there’s a fine line between brilliance and madness.

The team selection

Of all the daft selection decisions Dhoni has made, picking Stuart Binny is right up there with the idiocy that was selecting Vinay Kumar at Perth. Ostensibly picked as a batting all-rounder, Binny has batted at No. 8 and got one score on a pitch deader than Kevin Pietersen’s international career. Dhoni’s faith in his bowling was visible to all and sundry as his dibbly-dobbly deliveries were used for only 10 overs out of a 150 while Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar toiled away tirelessly.

If he really wanted an all-rounder, he does have a chap called Ravichandran Ashwin in the squad, who is averaging 40 with the bat and 28 with the ball, and has been praised by as astute readers of the game as Messrs Crowe and Ian Chappell, but, obviously, that wasn’t enough. His form in South Africa notwithstanding, he has the technique and temperament to bat at No. 6 and bowl 15 overs in a day. He thinks like a batsman and has a better technique than Dhoni.

At any rate, he’d contribute more than Jadeja and Binny combined and allow Dhoni to play a Test-class 4th seamer in the shape of Varun Aaron or Pankaj Singh. Aaron isn’t a Test-class third seamer. He is inconsistent and erratic, and the team already has Ishant Sharma. However, he has one redeeming quality: pace. He could be used sparingly as a shock weapon for fast 5-over bursts.

Pankaj Singh has the height and accuracy to be used as a stock bowler, holding up one end with his accuracy allowing Dhoni to keep Shami and Bhuvneshwar fresh. Either bowler would be a welcome addition to the attack. If he insists on picking Binny and Jadeja, Dhoni will soon bowl his three seamers into the ground.

The declaration

The pitch was green, the bowlers fresh, and the batsmen, while not quite in the Chris Martin class of rabbits, were not going to score many. It was a situation screaming for a declaration of intent. All Dhoni had to do was let Alastair Cook lead his time out, give the mandatory pep talk, set his field and declare after one ball was bowled. Sure, Shami and Ishant might have got a few, but the value of 15 streaky runs should have been weighed against the psychological advantage of a declaration.

Teams get 10 minutes between innings for a changeover, and, while Cook and Sam Robson might have reasonably expected to bat sooner than later, the suddenness of the decision coupled with the bother of trudging on and off the field for one delivery would mean that neither would be as prepared as they otherwise would have been. Also, the pitch flattened as the first day went on; a few early wickets and valuable timing bowling in the morning would have been well worth forsaking a few runs.

At any rate, it was a gamble worth taking; it isn’t as if Dhoni had to keep his bowlers in the dark about it.

The Tactics

Talking tactics

Sam Robson

Sam Robson’s footwork is a mess. It is virtually non-existent early on in his innings. Geoffrey Boycott, who knows a thing or two about the intricacies of batting, had this to say: ‘His judgment around off stump is not very good. He plays at the ball with a certain stiffness, which is not ideal when you are opening the batting.’

The first thing to do would be to set a short-leg without a man on the hook. The idea is to get him back but allow him to score so as to get him to play more shots. The short-leg is in case he fends off a few balls. After pushing him back, a full, swinging delivery around off-stump should do the trick, given that his already minimal footwork would be negated on account of his camping on the back foot. A catch behind the wicket or alternatively ‘LBW’, or ‘bowled’ would follow swiftly; you cannot push at the ball with stiff hands and no footwork in these conditions.

Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook has never been very happy driving early on in his innings. Dhoni could get Shami to bowl outside off-stump with no protection at cover or extra cover but block off his usually scoring options on the cut and off his pads. Forced to drive, a combination of indecisive footwork, a frazzled mind on account of the declaration, and his own form along with a succession of outswingers would have him extremely susceptible to the full, inswinging delivery. Caught unaware, his head would fall over as he tried to work the ball through midwicket, leaving him a prime candidate for an LBW.

Gary Ballance

Gary Ballance is another who does not like to commit on the front foot early on; he prefers a trigger movement towards off-stump. This pitch is green, and, while one might normally imagine that would negate the spinner, it also empowers him in the form of extra bounce.

A sub-continental type field with all the strappings – slip, leg-slip, silly point, short leg and short midwicket – along with Ashwin bowling over the wicket, and Ballance would be in a bit of trouble. The extra bounce, the close in field combined with the shock of seeing a spinner bowl with a new ball, something Ashwin has practiced tirelessly, and a close-in catch is a possibility.

It may fail or it may not, but it is worth a try.

Ian Bell

Ian Bell has no obvious technical weaknesses, so Dhoni will have to do what any good geometry student does and work the angles. Bell is particularly partial to scoring in the region extending from backward point and third man. Clearly, Dhoni must block off those scoring avenues. Furthermore, a fielder at short cover point is worth a try given his tendency to not always play his drives along the ground.

However, one cannot help feel that this field would only stagnate his scoring, not get him out. There is always the hope that he will try and get cute if his scoring avenues are cut off, but it is a distant one.

Joe Root

Joe Root had a torrid time in Australia, no surprise there. However, it is worth noting that he remained camped on the back foot and did not take many cheeky singles. Contrast this with his recent innings against India and Sri Lanka, where he was eager to play forward and deflect the bowl next to the wicket and run quick singles, and you begin to get the idea.

India does not have anyone with the pace of Mitchell Johnson, but that does not mean a similar tactic cannot be employed. Bowl back off a length just around off-stump, forcing him to play but not allowing him to get forward. Cut off his scoring options with a heavy off-side field; if he wants to flick from outside off-stump, that is his own business.

It is important not to bowl short, because that opens up scoring options in the form of the hook. Be sure to have close-in fielders to cut off the single; if he hits a few boundaries past mid-off, so be it. As the singles are cut off and he starts staying back, you get something approaching the Root in Australia. That is the moment to bowl the full wide outswinger that will be gratefully accepted by gully after he lunges at it.

Moeen Ali

Moeen Ali is a man who likes to play his shots. Like all languid players, he is prone to the loose airy drive. There are two ways to go with him: The first and more obvious is have Ashwin bowl to him with a slip and midwicket and hope that sooner or later he goes for the booming drive or slog sweep and is caught. The second and rather more intricate one is to set a 7-2 field and bowl in-swingers pitching just outside off-stump.

With the big gap on the leg side, Ali will soon give into his tendency of walking across the stumps and flicking. He may get a few boundaries, but that is offset by the fact that he will also play at deliveries that he could have left. An outswinger would either be driven at loosely or flicked at; the outcome will be the same.

This scheme could also be used with the spinner, but he is unlikely to try and flick against the spin.

Matt Prior

Matt Prior was bounced out by Mitchell Johnson. He was also bounced out by the Sri Lankan attack. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he has a problem with the short ball. A bodyline field and short bowling is the obvious ploy, but a double bluff in the form of a full inswinging delivery would reap dividends, as well. Peter Siddle has had him out LBW a number of times.

The Reality

However, all this is wishful thinking.

The only thing to do while Dhoni remains captain is read the serenity prayer.

‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.’