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This analytical piece focuses on my views over Gareth Delany’s batting similarities with Darren Sammy, and how he is an emerging talent to watch out for in the future.

Gareth Delany’s career with Ireland has just started, but he has quickly become a player to have grabbed my attention because of the impact he has had on the Irish cricket already. Try to think of this, an aggressive opener who will give you quick runs, and an aggressive leg-spin option, who will fetch you some wickets as well. This is exactly what I look for in a player when it comes to the shorter formats of the game.

Out of the 21 innings he has batted in the T20Is, 12 of them have been at number 4. But I strongly think that he can create the maximum impact as an opener. This is primarily because of his boundary hitting ability and from what I have observed, a will and fearlessness to hit the ball in the air. With a set opening combination in Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien, it is difficult to fit in Gareth in that slot, but his chances are bound to come in the future sooner than later.

BAT POSITION

Gareth’s bat position is as perfect as it gets to that of a baseballer. A still and well-aligned head with the bat being upright at an angle of almost 90°. When you compare this bat position with any cricketer, it will be hard to find one who matches him perfectly.

The closest someone gets to Gareth, is Mushfiqur Rahim. But Rahim doesn’t start off with an upright bat either. He starts with a normal position but before the bowler releases the ball, his trigger movement is to go deep into the crease as opposed to Gareth who looks to open up his stance. Rahim then lifts his bat high up. But again, it isn’t as high, nor is the stance any similar which proves the uniqueness in Gareth’s style.

SIMILARITIES TO DARREN SAMMY

1. BAT GRIP

The similarities of Gareth and Sammy start with the bat grip. They hold the handle of the bat on the higher side and use the long handle to hit the big shots. Such grip generally leads to a better ability in playing straight bat shots and the percentage of shots that involve the wrists is very low.

This perhaps is the biggest reason why we see these two playing a lot of cross-batted shots straight down the ground as well. Their similarities in holding the bat lead to other factors also being very indistinguishable.

2. PRELOAD

The stride they take also holds quite a lot of similarity. They are usually on the front foot with the bat high up and an open stance to ease the flow of the shot. Judging by the kind of technique they possess, their preferred zone of scoring the big shots must be straight down the ground and the cow-corner. Whereas, playing it towards backward point won’t be difficult either as it becomes a very accessible zone because of the back-lift.

With such a high back-lift, you generally do not really associate the term – “Playing with soft hands.” Nor does it really apply to them because they are aggressive players, and they look to take on the bowlers. They generate a good amount of power courtesy such a back-lift, especially the top hand (generates more power) takes over, thus making it hard to defend it with soft hands naturally.

What is really impressive though, is the stillness of Gareth’s head (In Pic 1 & Pic 2). It does not really tilt as Sammy’s head does. He keeps his head very still and gets into a proper position to launch the ball in the air. Many batsmen have a tendency to crouch a lot as a load-up to go for a big shot, but Gareth remains fairly stable and doesn’t bend as much all the time.

3. THE BIG SHOT

Mind you, the shot you’ll see in the picture below is not a squeeze to the off-side, but a pure use of the high grip on the bat handle to hit the ball for a SIX straight down the ground. Both these batsmen make enough room and then they let their hands take over. When the shots actually come off, they end up looking more like a golf swing.

However, the one thing I have noticed with Gareth, especially against the spinners is how wide he goes off the crease and how much room he ends up making for himself. He lines himself up in a position to flat bat the shots straight down the ground from the balls at good length area or smash the balls which are fuller in length with a straight bat.

4. WHO HITS IT LONGER?

With 90% of the technique showing similarities, one would assume the sixes also would be more or less travelling the same distance. But the answer is NO. This is because the execution of the shot is a lot different.

While Sammy tries to play funky shots, Gareth plays simple, yet more effective shots. Another major difference comes in the stability at the time of playing a shot. Sammy’s feet at times are not as balanced which makes quite a difference.

Gareth’s very wide stance sees him have a greater stability, thus allowing him to generate more power with proper cricketing shots and enables him to hit longer sixes.

Both are unique when it comes to the ball hitting ability, yet enjoyable in their own ways. Everyone has their own technique that they feel comfortable in. Sammy proved himself as an incredible death overs hitter, and Gareth’s future looks bright as an aggressive opener.

When you summarize Gareth’s batting, it sounds very interesting. He’s a batsman with a bat position similar to a baseballer but hits the ball like a golfer. That’s the complete package you get in Gareth Delany when it comes to the art of batting and everyone shall look forward to the immensely talented youngster.