Shipowners are finding themselves in the “corridor of uncertainty”, a phrase made famous by the player turned pundit, to describe a delivery a batsman is unsure whether to play or not, the shipbroker believes.

“If you [the bowler] landed enough balls in this corridor of uncertainty you would eventually get your man, forcing the batsman into making a decision which would lead to his dismissal,” Galbriath’s wrote in its weekly sale and purchase report.