Two sides with near-identical batting and bowling numbers are not near-identical sides.
It is tempting to treat fielding as the tiebreaker that commentators reach for when the bowling figures are level. Increasingly it is not a tiebreaker; it is a primary input. Sides that convert half-chances at a materially higher rate win a disproportionate share of the matches that go to the final ten overs.
A deliberate trade
Part of this is selection. Athletic fielders tend to be younger, and younger players tend to bat lower, which means the best fielding side is often the one that has accepted a slightly weaker tail. That is a real trade, and it is being made deliberately at several boards.
The coaching baseline moved
The other part is coaching that did not exist fifteen years ago. Specialist fielding staff, video review of movement patterns, and drill design borrowed from other sports have all moved the baseline. A standard that would have been exceptional in 2010 is now the minimum for selection, and the sides that have not invested are visible in exactly the overs that decide matches.
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