What is about twenty20 cricket that drives bowlers into their defensive shells straight away? We have looked through the rules a dozen times and have so far not seen any law that prevents them from having attacking fields – a stackful of slips, a short leg and the like – or delivering more than the token bouncer. And yet, from the moment a team starts batting in a twenty20 match, it seems as if the bowlers go on the defensive. The attempt from the very outset seems to be to bowl a dot ball or at the most, concede a single! This when a captain of the calibre of Imran Khan had famously stated that the best way to control the run rate was to take wickets. Honestly, a side that takes six wickets in effect has bowled a maiden and considering that the new batsman will take about a couple of deliveries to settle will have ensure close to another dozen dot balls. All of which add up to something like three maiden overs! Seems to make mathematical sense, doesn’t it?

And yet, just how many times have we seen four slips and a gully for a new ball bowler or a forward short leg and a silly mid on for a spinner? Seldom, if ever! Twenty20 is all about attacking cricket, we agree. But why is it only the batsmen who are doing the attacking. Have the bowlers of the world developed lily livers or what!