{"id":316170,"date":"2025-11-29T09:25:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T09:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/316170\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T09:25:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T09:25:31","slug":"hanging-in-the-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/316170\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanging in the balance"},"content":{"rendered":"


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How do cricketers find equilibrium?<\/p>\n


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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tEkanth\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0November 29, 2025 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n


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\nBalance, as author John Green once put it, is a “temporary and unpredictable gift” – it thrives when left unnoticed, but when things go off-kilter, its absence becomes very evident. Cricket too is a battle of balance. From keeping your own – a stable base for strokeplay, a confident landing on the follow-through, the attempt to keep both feet on the correct side of the boundary – to knocking the opposition off theirs, like Mohammed Shami did to Jos Buttler in the picture above.\n<\/p>\n

\nA cricketer finding or losing their balance lends itself to art beautifully. Below, Daren Sammy attempts an arabesque to dig out a Shakib Al Hasan yorker during the first Test between West Indies and Bangladesh in Kingston, in 2009.\n<\/p>\n


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\t\t\"Balance,<\/p>\n

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\nBalance, eh? Can’t stand it, can’t stand without it
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\n\t\tAndres Leighton \/ \t\t\u00a9 Associated Press
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\nRishabh Pant was woefully out of form before he brought up a drought-breaking hundred in this year’s IPL. How did he celebrate finding his feet again? With a handstand, of course.\n<\/p>\n


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\"Pant<\/p>\n


\nPant flips the narrative on its head
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\n\tArun Sankar \/ \t\u00a9 AFP\/Getty Images
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\nFor cricket administrators, a big part of the job is balancing the schedule, player workloads, and sport against entertainment. Has the Hundred struck that balance? These BMX wizards have the audience-pleasing part nailed, at least.\n<\/p>\n


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\"Wheels<\/p>\n


\nWheels up at the Hundred: it’s cutting-edge entertainment
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\n\tIan Forsyth \/ \t\u00a9 ECB\/Getty Images
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\nWhen you’re a team, it’s all about carrying each other, having your team-mates backs, and not letting each other down. As Wahab Riaz demonstrates.\n<\/p>\n


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\"Back<\/p>\n


\nBack in the day, support staff had to do all the heavy lifting
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\n\tEranga Jayawardena \/ \t\u00a9 Associated Press
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\nShoaib Akhtar will tell you fast bowling is all about mind over batter. See ball, swing ball, seam ball.\n<\/p>\n


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\"Face<\/p>\n


\nFace is base yaar: Shoaib Akhtar has found his ball-ance
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\n\tPrakash Singh \/ \t\u00a9 AFP\/Getty Images
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\nAs an allrounder, there’s a fair bit of juggling involved in your career. Though maybe not quite the kind Runako Morton and Dwayne Smith indulged in during practice session in Nagpur during West Indies’ tour to India in 2007.\n<\/p>\n


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\t\t\"Do<\/p>\n

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\nDo bat boys make good roll models?
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\n\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Associated Press
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\nYou’ve heard of elf on a shelf, now get ready for the talents in the Ballance. In the photo below, Gary Ballance shows off his core strength.\n<\/p>\n


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\"Man<\/p>\n


\nMan of even keel: Gary Ballance was born for this
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\n\tAnthony Devlin \/ \t\u00a9 PA Photos\/Getty Images
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\nHow do you balance a side filled to bursting with terrifying fast bowlers like Michael Holding and Colin Croft? You pace them out.\n<\/p>\n


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\"Nice<\/p>\n


\nNice flex: the Croft of balance is in Holding steady
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\n\t\t\u00a9 Evening Standard\/Getty Images
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\nMarcus Trescothick and Andrew Caddick prove it’s true – there really is an apple for everything.\n<\/p>\n


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\"How<\/p>\n


\nHow do you like ’em apples? Trescothick and Caddick demonstrate the importance of a balanced diet
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\nAbrasive, polarising England captain Archie MacLaren (1871-1944) was known to be autocratic when it came to team selection and expected unquestioning obedience from his team – which lent itself to plenty of lampooning. The picture below imagines him trying to put together a “balanced” England side.\n<\/p>\n


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\"Hiring<\/p>\n


\nHiring squad: how does this team average?
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\n\t\t\u00a9 Universal History Archive\/Getty Images
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Ekanth is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 ESPN Sports Media Ltd.<\/p>\n


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It’s not pretty and no cricketer is safe. Beware the catch-face<\/p>\n


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Cricket involves a bunch of gravity-defying feats<\/p>\n


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Want to watch the cricket? Get in line. <\/p>\n


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