Modern-day cricket needs more than players’ and captain’s game-awareness on the field and keeping that in mind the England cricket team has adopted a single-sending measure that is based on the use of coded signals from the team’s balcony on the ground. The tactics were evident at the Newlands where the team was facing the host South Africa in the third and final T20 of the series and the team analyst Nathan Leamon was seen placing the cards with some numbers that sent signals to the English players and captain in particular.
England vice-captain Jos Buttler likened the move as one of the modes for value addition and compared it to the two strategic timeouts in the Indian Premier League where the players and captains on the field get the opportunity to collect feedback and inputs from the analysis team. However, in the English team setup, it has been left for the players and captain to decide if they want to adopt the signal and tactical suggestions that it brings or wishes to ignore them and go ahead with their own tactics based on match situations.
"The lads were checking their Euromillions numbers. Eoin works closely with Nathan to work on the match-ups. In the IPL, you have two tactical time-outs for suggestions from analysts, but you have to be careful how you use it, there has to be an instinctive, intuitive side to the game," Buttler told Sky Sports suggesting the idea behind this development in the England team setup.
On the other hand, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said that the signalling system was under trial for along time and the process is just another value addition as a ‘live informational resource’ which by no means are ‘commands or instructions’ to players and the captain on the field and that all the decisions are taken on the field only and not inside the dressing room.
England have swept the three-match T20 series against South Africa and are the contenders to win the ODI series starting December 04 as well. The hosts have a lot of questions to answer and they will find it really tough to turn things around against this England white-ball side which does not allow slip-ups.
Powered by Froala Editor
Powered by Froala Editor