The security man patrolling the concourse a metre or so below the top of the sightscreen at the Hill End of Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Stadium on Wednesday was determined to do his job properly. “Sir!” It was a command, not a respectful term of address, and it was punctuated by a hand held up to say stop right there. “Next over, sir! Please wait!”
From that spot on the concourse you could see the top bit of Devon Conway as he coiled into his stance at the Pavilion End, his bat tapping the pitch, his head still, his eyes focused on the figure loping towards him to start New Zealand’s reply to South Africa’s 357/4.
The sightscreens at Pune are surely among the tallest in cricket. What did it matter if someone wanted to take a step closer to the field to snap a photograph of the scene glowing hazily in the evening smog? There was no way Conway’s view of the oncoming bowler could or would be cluttered by that movement. But there is no point arguing with punctilious security staff at cricket grounds. So we wait …
With a shocking suddenness a significant shard of the view above the sightscreen is punctured by a human spike. He rises from below like the shark in Jaws, up and up and up, and you want to apologise to that security man for your lack of understanding of the vectors pertinent to the moment.
Marco Jansen, all 2.06 metres of him, has bowled his first delivery from – as Kagiso Rabada would say later with not entirely mock envy – “18 metres above the ground”. Considered from the batter’s perspective, at the point he releases the ball some of Jansen’s long lever of a left arm probably is above even the tallest sightscreens in cricket.
That is but one of the factors that have made him the deadliest new-ball bowler at the World Cup. He has taken a dozen wickets at an average of 12.83 and an economy rate of 4.96 in the powerplay. Jansen’s snaking seamers have scooted across right-handers and jammed left-handers, scattering stumps and finding edges. He has burgled a few down the leg side and, memorably, straightened a delivery into Joe Root’s pads to create a catch at leg slip. The next best powerplay exponent, Dilshan Madushanka, has struck seven times. What, besides his skyscraper status, makes the South African more dangerous than his peers?
“He’s hitting great lengths, he’s swinging the ball both ways and he’s got a great bumper,” Rabada said. “If you have that in your artillery and you execute more often than not, you’ll be successful. He’s a natural bowler with a natural action – he can swing it, he can nip it. He’s gifted with the talent of making bowling look natural.”
That’s three mentions of natural in two sentences. It’s not a term easily associated with the beanpole fast bowler, who looks like he might snap in two as he leans into his run. Indeed, he seems more unaffected and authentic when, bat in hand, he is blazing the bowling to all parts.
But Jansen’s 16 wickets have been central to the success of South Africa’s attack, who have dismissed England, Australia and New Zealand for fewer than 200. Nonetheless the bowlers have been overshadowed by their batting counterparts – particularly when South Africa have taken guard first. When that has happened the South Africans have piled up 428/5, 311/7, 399/7, 382/5 and 357/4, and won each time. Rounded up, that is an average total of 375/6 – more than England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Afghanistan, the Netherlands or Bangladesh have yet made in an innings during the tournament.
So, when South Africa bat first, by the time their bowlers get their hands on the ball they have room to manoeuvre, reason to dream big, and licence to thrill. Better yet, they have Jansen, Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, who have claimed 65 wickets at 22.97. Eighteen of those strikes have been made in the powerplay, seven more than second-placed Sri Lanka. Leg slip, anyone?
“When the batters put up big totals it means we have runs to defend,” Rabada, who helped rattle New Zealand out for 167 in 35.3 overs, said. “But we almost make it irrelevant how much our batters score. We focus on our own target as a bowling unit and a fielding unit. But, with the batters putting up big totals it does bring wicket-taking opportunities – because opposition batters have to go after the ball. But we’re setting our own standards and backing ourselves to defend any total.
“All the bowlers in our attack are genuine wicket-takers, which is why things are happening when they’re happening. We’re playing close to our best. That’s why we’re getting the results we’re getting.”
It’s not only the quicks who are getting into the act. Maharaj magnanimously attributed his 11 wickets at 26.45 and 4.93 to the over to “big fast bowlers making enough rough for me”. That was at least partly a joke, but he was also serious: “It’s always nice when you have 350 on the board and you’re bowling second, but a lot of the credit must go to our fast bowlers. They’ve been phenomenal, especially in the powerplay; taking two to three wickets almost every game. That allows you, as a spinner, to settle into your job.”
Doubtless the patron saint of punctilious security staff above sightscreens everywhere is happy to oblige.
