Have Pace, Need Polish
By Gaurang
September 26 2008
If someone a decade ago had suggested that India would soon have about ten Test class pace bowlers but only a handful of Test class spinners, he or she would have been laughed out of the room. But the reality is that is exactly where India is today.
Even Pakistan, which once was thought to have the patent on the sub-continental fast bowler’s assembly line, now casts a covetous glance east, as its own assembly line seems to be sputtering with doping scandals and a dwindling supply of fresh young bowling talent.
With Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, S. Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Manpreet Gony, VRV Singh, the return of Ashish Nehra, and up and comers like Ashok Dinda, plus others on the periphery like Ajit Agarkar, Ranadeb Bose, Laxmipathy Balaji, etc., India's fast bowling cupboard looks well stocked.
What is now needed, something that John Wright identified early in his term as India Coach, is a bowling coach, preferably a fast bowling expert to guide this bunch of talented but yet rough-around-the-edges group of bowlers. The BCCI balked at Wright’s request, only giving him a temporary bowling coach during India’s tour Down Under in 2003-04 in the form of Bruce Reid. The rest is history. India’s pace bowlers out bowled Australia’s down under, and then also out bowled Pakistan’s vaunted fast bowlers in Pakistan. When later Venkatesh Prasad was given the job, again temporarily, India out bowled the English fast bowlers in their own backyard.
I am not sure whether Gary Kirsten has asked BCCI for help with his fast bowlers, but it is a fair bet that he must have at least considered hiring someone like his old teammates Alan Donald, or Fannie DeVilliers, to help him get the most out of his fast bowlers.
India has been playing Test cricket only at home or on the sub-continent this year, and are not scheduled to travel outside the sub-continent till well into the new year, so this issue may not seem very urgent. But it is during this time, when the spotlight is off, and the media glare is elsewhere, that a skilled fast bowling coach could do some serious work. India need that to make progress, and go beyond winning isolated Tests overseas, and start to win series overseas. The inevitable decline of India’s fabled middle order, makes this even more crucial, as India are likely going to have less runs to defend or attack with overseas for a while.
I sincerely hope the BCCI, which is not known for looking much beyond its nose, can for once, do some long-term thinking and try and add some polish to a group of pacers with lots of potential.
He is one Indian pacer who WENT ON HIS OWN and ACQUIRED POLISH by playing full season in County cricket...besides working his tail off in Indian Domestic cricket...
But the others in the group could use a figure like Donald, De Villiers, or Prasad, or even Wasim Akram or Sir Richard Hadlee (If they will devote full time to it) as fast bowling coach...
_____
ICL Ko Support Karo Yaro...
BCCI Ko Joote Chappal Maro....
With the decline of Kumble & Bhajji, we DON'T have a Test class spinner and no one seems to be in the horizon...
The surfeit won't help in the subcontinent for the most part unless the pitches are radically overhauled made very green...
The fact of the matter is despite all this pace bowling revolution; India hasn't won a more than one Test in a series since against SL at home in late 2005...
Yes the pacers will win a match or two abroad, but India's traditional strength, spin is what will win series convincingly at home...
The DEFENSIVE captaincy of Dravid and Kumble recently has not helped...
_____
ICL Ko Support Karo Yaro...
BCCI Ko Joote Chappal Maro....
==>>maan where have you left the Ranji lead wk takers Joginderrr and Harvinderrrr.
watch out...if you ever happen to enter Melbourne you will be arrested
PA* Pankaj Singh and VRV and that 19 year old pacer from Chennai deserves to be in that list
Pankaj Singh will play Aussies soon for Rajasthan let's see...
Pankaj is good.
Why did you leave out Joginderrrrr and Harvinderrrr....you don;t trust Ranji records ????
Joginder is OK for T20 and ODIs...but not Tests...
By the way, a couple of other promising youngsters - Sangwan and Yomahesh.
India - World Cup winners 2011!!!
Champions Trophy winners 2013!!!
Congrats to Indian team and all Indian fans!
India - World Cup winners 2011!!!
Champions Trophy winners 2013!!!
Congrats to Indian team and all Indian fans!
If he stays healthy, Ishant looks to be an all time great...
_____
ICL Ko Support Karo Yaro...
BCCI Ko Joote Chappal Maro....
Most starting pitchers are restricted by a strict pitch count per game as well as almost draconian innings count per season....
I'm wondering if such a system needs to evolve in cricket:
1) Keep track of overs bowled in international & domestic cricket.(Similar to pitch/innings count in baseball)
2) Keep track of the intervals between matches. (Similar to days off between starts for starting pitchers in baseball).
As Birbal said, I actually think if a guy like Munaf is kept under a strict over count as well as match count, he will be very effective. The same goes for Zakky. Ishant seems to be a workhorse but as he ages this will come into play for him as well.
Quote:Birbal
Wrote this over a year ago...still true...
Nice article but Pakistan does not envy the Indian attack one bit lol. We have enough going around
