Cricket Cranes’ Wicketkeeper situation at T20 World Cup explained
In a game of fine margin, T20 is so dynamic that a favourable situation can quickly turn in a short passage of play. Therefore the conundrum for most coaches is to find the optimal use of available. Uganda doesn’t have the luxury of resources like other cricketing nations. Cricket Cranes travelled to the World Cup […] The post Cricket Cranes’ Wicketkeeper situation at T20 World Cup explained appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
JoriPress
In a game of fine margin, T20 is so dynamic that a favourable situation can quickly turn in a short passage of play. Therefore the conundrum for most coaches is to find the optimal use of available. Uganda doesn’t have the luxury of resources like other cricketing nations.
Cricket Cranes travelled to the World Cup with one specialist wicket-keeper Fred Achelam which made sense in a four-match tournament and two warm-up games with Simon Ssesazi or even Roger Mukasa as backups. In a side that is very reliant on its fielding and bowling, a wicketkeeper is an important cog in that system.
However, Fred Achelam only played one of the four games at the World Cup and showed his class behind the stumps and also a tidy cameo at the back end. Simon Ssesazi was the preferred choice in the other three fixtures something that many didn’t understand but also something not unusual.
New Zealand read from the same script as Uganda going to the World Cup with Devon Conway as first choice wicketkeeper instead of Tim Seifert, running with the adage batter keeper rather than keeper batter.
Uganda took a chance in order to play an extra batter and also find the right balance with their many all rounders. For example in the game against PNG, Kenneth Waiswa and Brian Masaba batted at number 8 and 9 and that was possible because of playing Simon Ssesazi as the wicketkeeper. This flexibility allows the team to have a longer tail and more options with the ball in case anyone fails of the reliable sources.
Every decision looks very smart if it works and unfortunately in this case Simon Ssesazi didn’t get many runs but his work with the gloves wasn’t terrible for T20 standards. When you come up against very good teams the opportunities for the keeper won’t come as often for the wicketkeeper therefore the principle to use Simon Ssesazi was a good one for team balance.
In the modern situation, most teams are struggling to find a place for keeper batters and would rather use batter keeper to try and fit an extra batter in the lineup.
As the team looks ahead, the Cricket Cranes could think of moving Fred Achelam up the order to make sure they have two good players in that position.
Achelam, a clean striker of the ball and also a brave player of spin, could be an option among the top 3 so that the balance is achieved from the top downwards.
The post Cricket Cranes’ Wicketkeeper situation at T20 World Cup explained appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
