A more favorable appraisal of England bowlers
By Fat Tony - 20 June, '02
June 21 2002
Fat Tony waxes lyrical over England bowlers. A starkly different view from an article published only a couple days earlier on SportNetwork.
Darren Gough
England's man for all occasions, except when he is injured of course. When playing, he is England's heart and soul; he possesses an undying spirit, and a potent cricket brain. His bag of tricks includes the ability to swing the old ball as well as the new shiny one at pace and one of the most lethal yorkers in the game today. All of which can make him quite a handful in the test and one-day game. Tips for the Opposition: His aggressive style of bowling will always give the batsmen plenty of run scoring opportunities.
Andrew Caddick
The second half, of England's fast bowling duo. Caddick as a tall bowler, extracts unnerving bounce, coupled with his ability to swing and seam the ball, can make him a tricky assignment for most batsmen. Tips for the Opposition: His temperament at this level is continuously called into question. If the conditions don't suit him, or he feels it’s not his day, he will have the tendency to give up. His bowling also tends to be on the short side, so back foot players will find him a lot easier to play.
Hoggard
England's sole swing bowler. Much closer in temperament to Gough than Caddick, though not as a complete bowler. In good swinging conditions, he can be more than a handful as NZ found out at Christchurch when he took 7/63. Tips for the Opposition: Lacks the repertoire to take wickets, when the bowl does not swing. As a result, tends to go for a lot of runs. Also has a big problem with no balls.
Giles
England's lone spinner. May not possess the talent, or the repertoire of some of the world's best spinners, but has faith in his own ability, and a strong heart to go with it. Has been a key player in England's team, since playing important roles on their recent tours to the sub-continent. Has the habit of picking up wickets, when England desperately needs them. Tips for the opposition: On pitches that don't suit him, he has generally been used in a defensive role. As previously indicated, does not have as many strings to his bow, as some of the others on the world circuit.
Flintoff
Has become England's quickest bowler in the absence of Gough. He like Caddick, possess the ability to get unnerving bounce, though does not get anywhere near the same amount of lateral movement. He also has a big heart, and will run through walls for his captain. Tips for opposition: His bowling avg. of 42 suggests that he still has a long way to go, before he is considered test class. Being a good player of short-pitched bowling will go along way to negating his threat.
Tudor
Built in the traditional West Indian style of bowling, he possesses the ability to get good bounce and move the ball in both directions. Has a great natural ability, and has taken his wickets at a health average of 24.70, and more than half of them against the Australians. Tips for the opposition: For all his ability, has lacked the temperament and the fitness to play at this level, which is evidenced by the fact he has only played 7 tests since making his debut in dec 98.
Others
James Kirtley - England's member of the chucka 'charlie' club. Has a remodelled action, and a stack of wickets this season. Remains to be seen whether, he has the ability to make the headlines for the right reasons.
Ronnie Irani - Apparently in the form of his life. Does open the bowling for his county in one dayers. Will either of that count for anything in the tests or one-day series, probably not.
Jeremy Snape - Showed himself to be a handy oneday bowler in India, though on the slow side. Will find opportunities limited, in England though.
Simon Jones - Compared to Thommo, by Rod Marsh, but a first class average of 40 suggests otherwise. May play a role in the series yet, judging by the boost the Indians gave Brett Lee at the start of his career.