Part-time bowler

Part-time bowler – a batsman who has a limited set of attacking skills but can take the place of a bowler in special cases.

In matches of any format, there are episodes when the key bowlers of the team are unable to stop the opponent’s batsmen, who are rapidly gaining runs. If the situation takes threatening turns, the captain of the attacking team can castling, entrusting the bowler’s place to a player who is used to playing in a different position but is quite capable of causing problems to the opponent’s defense.

In fact, the Part-time bowler is not only a position on the field, but also a strategy, since connecting batsmen who can confidently serve for at least five overs to the attack can not only bring variety to the game, but also unsettle an opponent who is steadily gaining points.

As a rule, even the best batsmen are tuned to a certain type of strikes and build their own strategy based on their idea of the opponent’s style. Therefore, the appearance of a Part-time bowler on the field is a serious challenge for a batter because he is rarely ready to adjust during the game quickly. More importantly, the arsenal of Part-time bowler strikes is a mystery to him, which means that he will spend more time making decisions.

A part-time bowler is not an absolute guarantee of the success of the attacking team. It is very important that he regularly trains his serve; otherwise, he may encounter an attacking batsman on the field who will easily deal with him. In general, a Part-time bowler, as a rule, rarely achieves success as a pitcher, but there are exceptions:

• Kedar Jadhav, India. The player is more often referred to as an all-rounder, but he rarely acts as a bowler since captains resort to this measure only in desperate situations. A recognized master of hitting Рie Сhucker;
• Travis Head, Australia. He is better known as an effective batsman, but since his debut for the national team in 2016, captain Steve Smith has repeatedly asked the player to change his position. The reason is the ability to slow down the opponent’s batsman, knocking him off the rhythm;
• Glenn Maxwell, Australia. At the Part-time position, the bowler shows himself as a cold-blooded pitcher who is able to restrain the opponent for a long time. Despite the relatively modest statistics, he managed to record 45 wickets in 80 ODI matches;
• Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies. An opening batsman, Brathwaite is renowned for his stability and a good eye. Unlike most of his colleagues, he often closed the attacking position in test matches for the national team (the best indicator is 6/29 in the match against Sri Lanka);
• Kane Williamson, New Zealand. One of the best batsmen of our time, Williamson also performed well as an off-spin bowler. Even though his technique is often called conservative, the player does not seem to want to change it since it allows him to reduce the loss of points to a minimum;
• Kieron Pollard, West Indies. He took 50 wickets in 101 ODI matches, which is an excellent indicator. At first, Pollard was not considered a real threat at the Part-time bowler position. Still, over time he managed to accumulate an impressive arsenal of innings that can stun even the most experienced batsman. Pollard is a master of mixing various techniques, which allows him to confuse batters;
• Joe Root, England. Like many players of the current national team, he is a versatile player. Captain Eoin Morgan rarely invites him to take the place of Part-time bowler, but the fact that this happens when the team is in a truly hopeless situation already speaks in favor of the player;
• Chris Gayle, West Indies. In the past, the player often played in the position of Part-time bowler, taking a total of 73 wickets in 103 test matches. He prefers fast pitches and does not twist the ball too much, although, at the same time, he has a high accuracy of hitting;
• Marlon Samuels, West Indies. He deservedly considered one of the best Part-time bowlers of the team. He is very careful on the serve and, at the same time, is able to give the ball a high speed, which makes him an extremely uncomfortable opponent. He is a master of Yorkers;
• Jean-Paul Duminy, Australia. Even though the player finished his international career some time ago, he is still called one of the most outstanding Part-time bowlers in history. Duminy was truly versatile and not only spun the ball well, but also effectively destroyed wickets.

This is interesting: although the Part-time bowler can bring considerable benefits to the team, players who close this position often become the target of jokes. In 2020, the ICC tweeted a picture that quickly became a meme, comparing the batsman to a live power line.