Win toss and bat, mate!

Itrsquos becoming a trendmdashcertainly in Australiamdashfor the captain winning the toss to send the opposition in to batIt happened on every occasion in the last six Sheffield Shield matches of the season Then in a rather worrying imitation it occurred all six times in the Sydney first grade finals As talented English actress Emma Thompson shrewdly observed in a recent movie ldquoThere are a lot of sheep out there dressed in human clothingrdquoThe idea of regularly winning the toss then inserting the opposition in important matches often lacks common sense and the wonder is whose decision is it Is it the captain alone deciding to bowl first or is he being illadvised by the backroom hierarchy Or is it a trend that has developed from T20 cricket where itrsquos helpful to know the targetConfusing decisionThe decision was exceedingly confusing in the case of the Sydney first grade finals where the team that finishes higher on the minor round table advances if there is noresult in the match On most occasions this meant the team that advanced in the case of a noresult batted well into the second day to ensure the opposition was shut out of the gameSurely if a lowerplaced team bats first on winning the toss and plays well then they can at least determine when to declare After all they are the team that HAS to capture all 10 wickets to win and advanceItrsquos better to be in a position to declare your first innings to try and win rather than the match eventually being abandoned because the advantaged team bats well into the second dayFielding first after winning the toss also suggests a lack of faith in the openers It should be an accepted fact in cricket that openers are selected because they have the qualities to see you through a tough new ball periodThe definition of insanity is when the same decision is repeatedly taken but a different result is expected That means many captains in Australian cricket have attained the required criteriaScoreboard pressure where wickets can be gained because a satisfactory first innings total has been posted is a realityThere are exceptions to every rule but especially in a knockout match it is usually best to post a decent total in the hope of winning the game Short versions of the game like T20 are an altogether different propositionConfident LehmannA good example of batting first is a young Darren Lehmann who went on to represent Australia When South Australian captain David Hookes sent the opposition in on a renowned good batting pitch at Adelaide Oval Lehmann grabbed the skipper by the collar and screamed ldquoI drove to the ground today fresh and prepared to batrdquo The operative word in Lehmannrsquos sensible lament was ldquofreshrdquoAlso ReadHalf ton full confidenceFreshness factorWhy would you want to field while you are fresh but then bat when weary after having spent hours in the field chasing leatherThe old Vic Richardson quote that he passed on to me is often invoked ldquoIf you win the toss then nine times you bat first and on the 10th occasion you ponder the decision but still batrdquo Itrsquos worth remembering that grandfather Richardson was a former Australian captain in an era of uncovered pitches It doesnrsquot make sense in that case to not bat first if you win the toss in dry conditionsHowever in the case of covered pitches there is still plenty to recommend batting first In that case a team bats while the players are fresh and can claim a substantial advantage if they post a decent total Then if they bowl well that advantage is enhancedWhatever decision is taken at the toss you need to play well but there are many reasons why batting first is best After all there is only one decision a captain who wins the toss has to make How do we best go about winning the game