Cricket - Not all about the Cherry and the Willow!

2. The Venue:

This is yet another important element of the game. It has many sub elements interwined in it like the size of the boundaries, the capacity of the stadium, the outfield etc. The World Cup final of 2015 was a perfect manifestation of how a bigger ground can expose some of your potential weaknesses. A side which was unbeaten in the whole tournament just collapsed on the big day. The venue is what gives you the most discussed word in recent years – ‘home advantage’. It is not surprising for a local team to outclass the opposition in their own conditions.

The home side certainly knows how to best use the ground to their advantage. Similarly playing at the Wanderers in South Africa might make you wonder how could that gently hit ball go for six, and you later have the aerodynamics expert telling you its all due to the altitude at which the stadium is located and the ball does travel much more in the air compared to other venues. Shorter boundaries and fast outfields inevitably mean high scoring games.

A match in the Chinnaswamy stadium of Bangalore might make the bowlers look mere spectators as the batsmen clear those almost ‘illegal’ boundaries with ease. The crowd and its strength also matter as acknowledged by the greatest of cricketers. While it could make the home team overcome a precarious situation, it could also mean extra pressure for them.