Cricket: Death bowling can be a fickle business

Kyle Mills. Photo / Getty Images

Finding the right place to bowl at the death in a one-dayer is an enduring mystery.

Death-bowling theories are simple: bowl perfect yorkers or bowl back of a length at the body to cramp batsmen.

That's all very well in theory. Put Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni in front of the stumps with a bat which looks the size of a barn door and the odds move in favour of big runs. New Zealand conceded 53 runs for five wickets off 8.4 of the last 10 overs to win in Napier; 87 runs for five wickets in Hamilton; 83 for three in Auckland; and 100 runs without loss back in Hamilton. Death bowling can be a fickle business.

The trouble with the yorker is bowlers are aiming for the proverbial 50c piece. Miss the money shot and you've got a low full toss or a half-volley. Likewise any width back of a length and the ball tends to test Einstein's theory of relativity for speed as it heads to the boundary rope.

Kyle Mills could be a professor on the topic given what he's faced in his 164-match ODI career. He says it's a skill all the New Zealand bowlers need.

"Corey's done a lot of it for us recently and Tim's pretty good. Jimmy Neesham's also had a taste. The more times you're exposed in that situation, the better you become accustomed.

"At the start of my career it was a difficult proposition. As time has gone on I know what I can do and enjoy being in those situations.

"I've done a lot of research, for instance, on the Indian batting order. I try to stick to my plans and be confident. If not, I'll always have a plan B. It's a pretty tough environment being a bowler in the international one-day game with flat wickets and short boundaries ... As a bowler you've got to come up with ways to get better, trying funky fields and creating new deliveries to nullify the batsman."

Mills' former teammate Jacob Oram says death bowlers shouldn't be judged solely on runs conceded and wickets taken when compared to their peers.

"Matches intensify during that period. Limiting boundaries, taking a wicket to get new batsmen to the wicket or even bowling a dot ball are vital.

"All that has to happen while a bowler aims for such a small window.

"I'm a big baseball fan so I think cricket needs to go down a Moneyball-type path with its backroom analysis. Scout the footage, set fields accordingly and execute your plans. That's the idea, anyway."

5th ODI, today, 2pm, Wellington

New Zealand (probable): Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (c), Corey Anderson/Jimmy Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee/Matt Henry, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan.

India (probable): Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron.

Pitch/forecast: Wellington is a mixed ground for one-day totals batting first with 10 scores of 225 and above and 10 below. Drizzle is forecast for the morning but the match should be played in fine conditions starting from 2pm.

Key players

Jesse Ryder: The explosive starts are not in question but he's struggling to carry on - his last seven innings in ODI or T20 formats have resulted in scores between 17 and 23. A role similar to his sixth-fastest ODI century against the West Indies wouldn't go amiss.

Mohammed Shami: Started the series well with three for 55 and four for 55 but lost control in the last two matches with two for 84 and one for 61. Captain MS Dhoni has implored his pace bowlers to "start using their brains more" and to hit the back of length mark close to off-stump.

Statistic to watch: A fifth consecutive half-century to Kane Williamson would push him into elite batting territory. Roger Twose (2000-01) and Martin Guptill (2011-12) have achieved the feat for New Zealand although not in the same series. Andrew Jones scored six consecutive half-centuries in 1989-90 including five in the Pakistan series. The international record is nine by Pakistani legend Javed Miandad in 1987.