Pitfalls of pinch-hitting

The Sri Lankans showed in the World Cup that on the slow sub-continental pitches pinch-hitting is a legitimate and highly successful tactic. On an Oval pitch with early moisture it is a hazardous pursuit.

By his very nature the pinch-hitter is giving the bowler every chance of taking his wicket and sides who employ these tactics will often find they have lost too many early wickets. One of the strengths of Sri Lanka's World Cup victory was that they won the final and the semi-final after losing both openers very cheaply.

In England, with pitches allowing the seam bowlers movement early on, openers with the more modest intentions of the traditional opening batsman are in danger. The first English wicket to fall was that of Michael Atherton who was drawn into a forward stroke by an outswinger from Venkatesh Prasad.

At the other end, in his first international outing, Alistair Brown was already emphasising the huge gap between county and international cricket as well as the dangers of pinch-hitting in English conditions. He should have been caught in the slips off his second ball.

With Atherton gone and another pinch-hitter, Neil Smith, joining Brown, England looked in trouble at an early stage. As it was, Brown had a fair amount of luck and played a few resounding strokes while Smith produced four of the best strokes of the day.

The result was that the third wicket did not fall until the 19th over when the score was 85. If that early catch of Brown's had stuck, England might have been 30 for 3 with Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe engaged in a careful rebuilding operation.

Obviously the first 15 overs presents batsmen with excellent opportunities. But it is no good adopting the relatively reckless approach of the Sri Lankans in the World Cup. It will bring embarrassment too often.

Even so, it needed the hitting of Mark Ealham and Chris Lewis to take England to a formidable total. Maybe one pinch-hitter can be justified in England but surely not more.