Follow UsIn IPL 2020, Glenn Maxwell averaged 15.42 across the whole season. After 8 innings, he rather shockingly had a high score of 13. And yet he would end up playing 13 of the 14 games Punjab played that year, with the dreaded axe only coming in the very final game of the campaign.
Partly, Maxwell was being fielded by Punjab every game since he was their most expensive signing, snapped up at a staggering 10.75 crore. In a way, the franchise felt obliged to play him.
But there was another reason for Kumble-led management continuing to pick Maxwell despite his shocking returns with the bat: he turned out to be an extremely handy bowler, to the extent that he almost warranted a place in the XI on the basis of his bowling alone.
That season 57% of Maxwell’s spells had an economy of 7.8 or lower, and there was a phase in which he returned figures of 0/28, 0/24 and 1/31 in consecutive matches while bowling his full quota of overs. Given Maxwell was comfortable bowling with the new ball too, the flexibility he provided made him a pretty valuable asset despite his total no-show with the bat.
A throwback to IPL 2020 like this might look random, but it is not. As Roston Chase, for the second game running, shot down the Indian batters with his off-spin, there is good merit in the argument that perhaps this ‘batting all-rounder’ has earned the right for West Indies to give him an extended run in the side based on his bowling alone, notwithstanding how he fares with the bat in the future.
With dew making it impossible to grip for the spinners, it was an effort and a half from Chase to return figures of 2/14 in the first T20I. Introduced into the attack with India flying at 57/0 after 5 overs chasing 158, the off-spinner’s spell brought the hosts single-handedly back into the contest.
However, on Friday at the Eden Gardens, the 29-year-old astonishingly out-did his effort in the first game.
It is one thing finishing with figures of 3/25 against India in India, pocketing the wickets of the three best batters in the side (all, in theory, unfavorable match-ups due to being right-handers). The manner in which Chase went about his business, however, suggested that there resides a terrific bowler within the off-spinner that is being criminally under-used and under-utilized across all white-ball cricket. Such were the skills and brains he displayed on the night.
On a wicket that did not stop nearly as the one in the first game, and offered little to no turn, Chase brought the Indian batters to their knees through one thing: constant and astute change of pace. That he possessed immense control is another thing altogether - he nearly landed 80% of the balls on a ‘good’ length - but the simple tactic to vary his pace drastically - to keep the batters guessing - made it impossible for the Indian batsmen to settle into a rhythm.
Roston Chase's pitchmap in the 2nd T20I
The contrasting manner in which he scalped the three wickets on the night pretty much embodied his entire spell.
Chase’s first wicket on the night, of Rohit Sharma, came off his fastest ball of the game. After beginning his spell with 87 kph and 98 kph deliveries, the off-spinner fired one in at 107 kph that completely caught the Indian skipper by surprise. Aiming to slog one over mid-wicket, Rohit was undone by the extra pace. And the miscued hit resulted in the demise of the Indian skipper.
Suryakumar Yadav, the best player of spin in the Indian side, was out-foxed by Chase’s pace too, but in his case a lack of it. Following 5 deliveries in the range of 95 kph to 106 kph, the off-spinner threw one outside off-stump that was relatively slow, around 91 kph. The lack of pace produced turn into the batter, which subsequently induced a thick inside-edge straight back to the bowler as Suryakumar looked to drive.
In Kohli’s case, it was about discipline and composure. Despite a drop catch from Jason Holder gifting Kohli six runs, Chase stuck to his plan and kept firing the ball into the right-hander around his average pace for the night, between the 95-98 kph mark. His reward would come in the form of the former Indian skipper getting beaten by the turn to be clean bowled.
Two games, two world-class spells against a world-class batting unit, but it is still a very small sample size for Chase to be demanding a spot in the first XI as a bowler. Or is it?
In his T20 career (T20s and T20Is combined), Chase now possesses an economy of 6.2 while averaging 21.5, striking every 21 balls. The sample size is 28 matches - neither too small nor too big - but his showing in CPL 2021 perhaps serves as an evidence that these numbers are indeed sustainable.
There, Chase bowled at least 3 overs in 80% of the games (10/12) for St Lucia Kings, and finished the season with an ER of 6.92 whilst taking 10 wickets. He had an economy of 7 or lower in 58% of the matches. He also has a pretty sound ODI record, having taken 19 wickets in 26 innings at an economy of 4.80. There is enough evidence that, if nothing, he could be a very useful, very reliable defensive option.
It remains to be seen, then, whether the Windies do look at him as a regular fixture in the side merely on the basis of his bowling. Should they do it, it also instantly gives them an anchor in the batting department that can be deployed if and when necessary. The side's ludicrous batting depth provides them with the luxury of having someone like a Chase in the XI as an optional anchor in crisis situations, provided the player keeps justifying his inclusion by delivering with the ball in hand.
That, though, is for later. For Chase, the reality in the present is that his stellar efforts with the ball have been nullified by his teammates - particularly the batters - for the second game running.
But silver linings are all teams look for in bilateral games and in the form of the bowling of Roston Chase, the Windies have been provided with one.