‘The corridor of uncertainty’ describes an area where a cricket ball can pitch during a delivery which is a narrow line on and just outside a batsman’s off stump.
The name is a resultant from the opinion that this is the area in which a batsman struggles most to determine whether to play forward or back, or whether to leave the delivery. If a batsman leaves the ball, there is a chance the ball will turn inward and either bowl him or hit him with an increased chance of leg before wicket (LBW). If a batsman plays the ball, there is a chance the ball will go to the outside instead, leading to an outside edge that can be easily caught. Therefore, this is a very tricky challenge to overcome, especially early on during a batsman’s innings and it is a very important area to focus on for any batsman with most of the balls they face being delivered in this corridor. The corridor of uncertainty has always been a talking point during most international cricket matches whether it is red or white ball cricket.
At present, there are many international batsmen around the world who are quite strong when the ball is delivered in this corridor but it does not mean they are flawless since the corridor of uncertainty always creates doubt in the batsman’s minds. The likes of Hashim Amla, AB De Villiers, Kane Williamson and Joe Root fall into this category but it’s no surprise to see even them vulnerable in this corridor early on during an innings.
A few bowlers remembered for delivering the ball in this corridor quite often with great success were, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock and Terry Alderman, an Australian fast bowler from the 80’s. Martin Blake, a senior writer for “The Age” since 1986 had said that Alderman “rarely strayed from the corridor of uncertainty that he coined himself several years ago”.
Top international coaches around the world would advise a batsman to leave the ball when it’s delivered in this corridor especially early on during an innings, but the possibility of the ball cutting back in makes the batsman play at most of these deliveries. It’s harder to judge a swinging delivery than it looks. For one, it requires a lot of guesswork. Even the most accomplished batsmen in the world rely on their instincts and years of training to gauge where the ball will end up when it reaches them. There is no device to tell you the ball will move a certain number of inches in the air after release and a certain amount after pitching. And if the ball is moving at 145kph, the time to assess becomes shorter and the margin of error slighter.
The introduction of twenty20 cricket has revolutionized batting without any doubt and it has helped the batsman to overcome the balls delivered in the corridor of uncertainty by being positive from the outset. When it comes to the longer format though, batsman hold themselves back a tad from being positive but destructive batsman like David Warner, Brendon McCullum have proved that attack can be used to good effect to overcome this challenge. Batsmen around the world are starting to follow their trend of being positive to overcome these challenges, and as a result of this you see test playing nations having very healthy run rates right throughout the duration of a game compared to the past.
It’s a different challenge for the batsman when the ball is new and being delivered in this corridor. It helps if you have played the bowler in the past or if there is some video footage to structure your game plan. For example If you’re up against a bowler who swings the ball away from the right-hander, you draw an imaginary line outside off stump and leave alone all balls that pitch outside that line. In fact, you have to play well within that line to cover the movement in the air and off the surface. You can’t play balls outside off stump with a straight bat, for it doesn’t cover for swing – you would probably end up nicking it to the keeper. You have to play with a slightly horizontal bat, which ensures that you cover the movement.
However, you will need to play with a straight bat when you’re up against a bowler who swings it back into right-hander. That will not be enough, you’ll also have to play late and close to the body to ensure there is no gap between the bat and pad.
It’s always a tough proposition for a batsman facing a ball delivered in this area. Therefore we have to admire the batsman who successfully overcome this challenge and commiserate with the batsman who struggle when the ball is delivered in the corridor of uncertainty.
