World Cup 2019 witnesses increase in number of short deliveries so far

The ICC World Cup 2019 in England and Wales might be only more than two weeks old but set a fascinating pattern right from the very first ball when South Africa opened up with the leg spin of Imran Tahir.

With batsmen stronger, fitter and more aggressive than ever, this was supposed a World Cup dominated by the bat. Twenty20 is influencing other forms of the game, and scores are getting higher. Coming into this tournament, big totals were the expectation.

The standard of batting is higher than it used to be. The bowlers at the 2019 World Cup clearly needed a change of tack.

Increase in number of short deliveries

The most notable change in this tournament has been an increase in the number of short deliveries.

The short ball defined as deliveries pitching more than eight metres short of the stumps.

According to data from CricViz, before the start of play between South Africa and West Indies on June 10, almost 45 per cent of all seam bowling deliveries had been short, compared to around 37 per cent at the last two World Cups and under 32 per cent in 2007.

Remarkably over half, 52.5 per cent to be exact, of West Indies' balls have been short, with hosts England dropping short 48.7 per cent and Pakistan 47.7 per cent of the time.

It's not just those sides leading the way, with 18 out of the 35 deliveries Australia bowled to India's Shikhar Dhawan in the first powerplay of Match no 14 short-of-length.

The pitches in England have produced a surprising amount of bounce, and a number of batsmen caught out by balls kicking up off the surface more than expected.

Short balls tend to be more expensive than average length or full balls

Short balls are high-risk strategy because they produce more wickets but also tend to be more expensive than average length or full balls. Then there is also the risk of giving away extras.

Any ball that passes the batsman above head height results in a wide. Fast bowlers are also limited to two balls per over that bounce above shoulder height, and will concede a no ball - and a free hit - if they bowl a third.

Bowling short buys wickets, but at a price

In brief, use of short-pitched bowling is proving effective in breaking partnerships but fielding sides can leak runs in the process.

A decisive shift in tactics seem to be paying off for Jason Holder's seam battery, with their collective strike rate in the first 20 overs crashing down from 48 in 2018 to just over 31.

But they dropped too short against Australia in match no 10, shipping 24 wides - many of which were bumpers that flew over wicketkeeper Shai Hope's head.

Teams have taken a wicket with every 21 short balls they bowl - whereas it takes 33 length balls and 35 back of a length balls to dismiss a batsman.

But short balls are far more expensive on average, with bouncers going for 8.58 runs an over, length balls costing just 5.03 and back of a length balls 5.08.

But that is not putting them off. West Indies skittled Pakistan for 105 with a wonderful display of short bowling in the second game of the tournament, and that was their tactic again when they played Australia last week.

That time, though, their bowling erred too short. They conceded 24 wides, with the majority the result of bouncers going over the batsman's head.

It was only the 24th time in 4,156 matches in the history of one-day cricket that more than 20 wides have been conceded in an innings - a rate of once every 173 matches.

However, two of those have come in just 14 matches so far at this World Cup - a rate of once every seven matches.

That is not an indication of low quality, but rather a desire to push the boundaries of short bowling in response to the domination of big-hitting batsmen. The West Indies got it wrong against Australia at Trent Bridge, and they lost the match narrowly, but it was their decision-making with the bat that let them down and not their short bowling, which meant Australia never truly settled.

Cricket has always been a game of evolution, and there was always going to be a response to the big hitters that were expected to take charge of this tournament.

Bouncers have helped keep totals down so far, but don't bet against the World Cup's best batsmen adapting again to send scores back through the roof.