Sydney: When a batsman throws his wicket away with a century in sight at the World Cup, he can now tell disgruntled teammates he was blinded by science.
Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have found that cricketers fall victim to the “nervous nineties”, that spell in an innings when the doubts and caution creep in.
One-day cricket matches between 1971 and 2014 were analysed and researchers discovered that when batsmen neared major milestones they reduced their strike rate until they hit the magic number.
Then, once they reached their milestone, their strike rate increased by 45 per cent and their rate of dismissal almost doubles, the study shows, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Obviously all the players share a common goal, which is winning the match, but batsmen have also personal rewards which has only limited impact on the team,” said professor Lionel Page of the QUT’s school of economics.
“Going from 99 to 100 is just one run for the team but it’s huge for them.”
“The psychological angle is very interesting -- the stakes of being close to 100 makes you stressed,” he added.
“Maybe it is the nervous nineties, maybe the batsmen stress when they are close to the milestone and that’s why they decrease their risk-taking.”
Meanwhile, West Indies narrowly avoided an embarrassing World Cup warm-up defeat at the hands of minnows Scotland yesterday, just hanging on to claim a three-run win.
The West Indies were mauled by nine wickets by England in their last warm-up but looked on course for a comfortable afternoon against the Scots when they piled-up 313-9 in 50 overs.
Despite losing Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels for one run between them, the Caribbean side then saw Denesh Ramdin (88) and Lendl Simmons. Scotland opener Kyle Coetzee smashed 96 with 14 fours with Richie Berrington adding a crucial 44-ball 66.
But with a famous win in sight, Berrington was run out in the 49th over with Scotland losing two more wickets in the next six balls, as seamer Kemar Roach coolly defended a last-over target of 12 runs.
Despite the defeat, Scotland can take heart from their preparations having crushed Ireland by 179 runs in their first game. AGENCIES
