Defend

Verb

1. To ward off attacks against; to fight to protect; to guard.
2. To support by words or writing; to vindicate, talk in favour of.
3. To make legal defence of; to represent (the accused).
4. To focus one's energies and talents on preventing opponents from scoring, as opposed to focusing on scoring.
5. Mostly in tests. The action of not putting force into hitting a shot, but to conserve energy and wear down bowlers so they can attack later.

   "The teams strategy was to defend but score runs as well for the first 20 overs."