Sehwag, the bowler

[The Outsider]

Lurker's comments in another thread about Sehwag as someone who only picks up wickets on square turners and comparing him to Michael Clarke got me interested in Sehwag the bowler over the last couple of seasons. I remembered him being very effective to the point of thinking he should put in more effort in his bowling so that we can do away with Harbhajan on away tours altogether. Starting from the WI tour of 2006, here are Sehwag's bowling stats :

Mat Inns Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 5 10  
unfiltered 57 50 289.1 44 871 24 3/12 4/30 36.29 3.01 72.2 0 0 Profile 
filtered 12 15 179.4 32 452 21 3/12 4/30 21.52 2.51 51.3 0 0 

21 wickets in 12 matches at 21.52. 9 out of these 12 matches were played outside the subcontinent and the only pitch which can be callled a square turner was the Kanpur track. He probably can't put in a 40 over in an innings effort because he does not practice his bowling enough but for short spells he is a very dangerous bowler.

[amits]

sehwag can be a useful 3rd spinner option in tests. for the upcoming sl series, we will be playing 2 regular spinners in kumble & harbhajan as the conditions in sl r very similar to ind. sehwag, can bowl 10 overs in a day easily and pick 1-2 wickets. sehwag, happens to bowl better to left-handers than right-handers and with his line, he happens to get some of them bowled round their legs. gilchrist at perth & now smith at kanpur

[Ram]

21 wickets at 22 ! That would make even specialist bowlers proud.

[umpire]

I believe he is street smart cricketer. The bowling Smith around his leg was ploy and it paid off. He can possibly be our batting allrounder.

[sm332]

yeah .. on certain tracks he is a high quality bowler but overall I think he has enough nous to be a support spinner in almost all conditions. I reckon he could easily end up with 100 test wickets before all is said and done. But first things first, the lad has to keep raking in the runs and decreasing his standard deviation between innings would be nice!!

[Gambit]

He was incredible in WI during the 2006 tour.

[f.b.m]

Line and length + Big rip with great seam position means that on wickets with a bit of turn, he's probably the third best test match offspinner in the world along with Jeetan Patel I'd say. He's outbowled Bhajji on many occasions including the Adelaide test match.

[f.b.m]

Oh, and he's also one of the 'fastest' bowlers in the world when it comes to over rates. Very few bowlers can bowl an over in lesser time than him.

[suraj]

Lurker's comments in another thread about Sehwag as someone who only picks up wickets on square turners and comparing him to Michael Clarke got me interested in Sehwag the bowler over the last couple of seasons. I remembered him being very effective to the point of thinking he should put in more effort in his bowling so that we can do away with Harbhajan on away tours altogether. Starting from the WI tour of 2006, here are Sehwag's bowling stats :

Mat Inns Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 5 10  
unfiltered 57 50 289.1 44 871 24 3/12 4/30 36.29 3.01 72.2 0 0 Profile 
filtered 12 15 179.4 32 452 21 3/12 4/30 21.52 2.51 51.3 0 0 

21 wickets in 12 matches at 21.52. 9 out of these 12 matches were played outside the subcontinent and the only pitch which can be callled a square turner was the Kanpur track. He probably can't put in a 40 over in an innings effort because he does not practice his bowling enough but for short spells he is a very dangerous bowler.

Yes I think Sehwag has been really underused as a bowler by the Indian captains

[amits]

sehwag is 1 of the most underrated players we have in test cricket, both as a batsman & bowler. sehwag, started playing cricket as a bowler who could bat a bit, now he is the reverse, batsman who can bowl a bit. i remember the 1st odi against aus in 2001, which sehwag won with his bowling taking 3 wickets. sehwag, should bowl atleast 10 overs in a day in a test match. and i dont think there is anything wrong in sehwags batting. sehwag, might do well in 1 out of 5 innings, but when he does well, he does it really well putting up a 150+ score. sehwag, in his centuries, avges more than 200

[Cricketics]

what about he in ODI'S.. he can change games with his spell.. he has done it often no. of times in ODI'S.. the most memorable spells would be the one against south africa in 2002 champions trophy semi final.. and then the 2004 asia cup during the qualifying game against lanka..

[suraj]

sehwag is 1 of the most underrated players we have in test cricket' date=' both as a batsman & bowler. [b']sehwag, started playing cricket as a bowler who could bat a bit, now he is the reverse, batsman who can bowl a bit. i remember the 1st odi against aus in 2001, which sehwag won with his bowling taking 3 wickets. sehwag, should bowl atleast 10 overs in a day in a test match. and i dont think there is anything wrong in sehwags batting. sehwag, might do well in 1 out of 5 innings, but when he does well, he does it really well putting up a 150+ score. sehwag, in his centuries, avges more than 200

Is this really true??/

[amits]

Is this really true??/

thats true & its more than 10-12 years ago. sehwag in his u-19 days was a bowler who could bat a bit. in the u-19 wc in 1998, he scored only 76 runs@12.67, but took 7 wickets@11.71. also look at 1 of his scorecards from u-19 days - http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/145/145607.html

[Gambit]

He was included in the side against Pak in 1999(when he made his debut at Mohali) and was supposed to be an Ashish Kapoor clone.

[Lurker]

Lurker's comments in another thread about Sehwag as someone who only picks up wickets on square turners and comparing him to Michael Clarke got me interested in Sehwag the bowler over the last couple of seasons.

Oddly enough Michael Clarke's overall career bowling seems to be very similar to Sehwag at his best. 12 wickets@21. Not bad at all. Between Sehwag and Clarke I will probably go with Sehwag purely as a bowler. Simply because to me a part time offie always offers better options than a part time left armer. Case in point De Silva or Carl Hooper. That said Sehwag's performance with ball of late is no different than tail-ender making more runs these days. Just as an Anil Kumble can not do a Sehwag's job, simply Sehwag can not do Kumble's job....unless both get some advante from the pitch. xxxx

[The Outsider]

Oddly enough Michael Clarke's overall career bowling seems to be very similar to Sehwag at his best. 12 wickets@21. Not bad at all. Between Sehwag and Clarke I will probably go with Sehwag purely as a bowler. Simply because to me a part time offie always offers better options than a part time left armer. Case in point De Silva or Carl Hooper. That said Sehwag's performance with ball of late is no different than tail-ender making more runs these days. Just as an Anil Kumble can not do a Sehwag's job, simply Sehwag can not do Kumble's job....unless both get some advante from the pitch. xxxx

What the hell are you rambling about? Whoever compared Kumble to Sehwag! The comparison was between Sehwag and Harris and over short spells, Sehwag is a better bowler than Harris. He troubled WI in WI and then Australia in Australia. He bowled better than Harbhajan at Adelaide on a flat wicket. Come back when Harris is able to pick up some crucial wickets against top teams in their backyards on pitches not aiding spin like Sehwag has done.

[Lurker]

What the hell are you rambling about?

Easy there tiger. You will know when I am rambling, for now just chill and concentrate on the topic at bare.

Whoever compared Kumble to Sehwag!

Dont understand English, ask away. Stop getting your panty in a twist as to who is comparing who, what and where. Request and you shall receive.

The comparison was between Sehwag and Harris and over short spells, Sehwag is a better bowler than Harris. He troubled WI in WI and then Australia in Australia. He bowled better than Harbhajan at Adelaide on a flat wicket. Come back when Harris is able to pick up some crucial wickets against top teams in their backyards on pitches not aiding spin like Sehwag has done.

That pretty much sums your cricketing knowledge doesnt it ace? Paul Harris has close to twice the number of wickets than Sehwag. Paul Harris has played 1/4th the number of Test as Sehwag has to get twice the number of wickets. Paul Harris has a better bowling average, economy rate, strike rate as Sehwag. See how easy that was? Now start replying how you meant something else yada yada(basically you can start talking outta your rear end now). xxxx

[The Outsider]

Paul Harris has a better bowling average, economy rate, strike rate as Sehwag. See how easy that was? Now start replying how you meant something else yada yada(basically you can start talking outta your rear end now).

Did you read the sentence completely or are just replying for the sake of it again. Over short spells, that is the key. Obviously, being a part timer Sehwag does not have the ability to bowl decent line and length for 20-30 overs a day. But over short spells of 5-10 overs he is a better bowler than Harris. Don't know when SA are touring WI next, but let me throw it down - at Perth and Adelaide, Harris won't be able to match Sehwag's average. He might get a couple of more wickets but his average at Perth and Adelaide will be decidedly worse than Sehwag. Are you prepared to wait and watch?

[Lurker]

Did you read the sentence completely or are just replying for the sake of it again.

Ah yes the wisea$$ again. Do you practise what you preach? Cos if you did you would have already known where the comparison of Sehwag and Kumble happened. So do you just speak and not hear??? Or you dont understand logic? WHats it?

Over short spells, that is the key. Obviously, being a part timer Sehwag does not have the ability to bowl decent line and length for 20-30 overs a day. But over short spells of 5-10 overs he is a better bowler than Harris. Don't know when SA are touring WI next, but let me throw it down - at Perth and Adelaide, Harris won't be able to match Sehwag's average. He might get a couple of more wickets but his average at Perth and Adelaide will be decidedly worse than Sehwag. Are you prepared to wait and watch?

What key? And where's the lock? You can not make an argument for the heck of it. Short spell? Who do you think Sehwag is? Freddie Spofforth or Malcolm Marshall? I personally have never heard of spinners bowling in, as you put it, "short spell". You obviously have, or invented it. The argument here is Harris vs Sehwag. Stick to that. Or else start moving the goal-post again with a: a) Harris is a better bowler with 3 men on the leg side. b) Sehwag is a better bowler when Bhajji opens the bowling. c) Sachin is better than all of them when 6 runs is needed off that last over! Gimme a break and keep it simple. xxx

[The Outsider]

Aaah! Some more random stuff. It's a given that part timers are not going to be able to bowl long spells with control and Sehwag is a part timer. But he gets very good drift, turn, and bounce over a 5-10 over spell which he obviously is not able to sustain over longer periods because of lack of practice, being a part timer. I have not seen Harris get any loop or drift whatsoever. Yes, he can keep chugging in and aim outside leg stump from over the wicket. That makes him a good spinner, I suppose? Put your money where your mouth is- let's see how Harris will be raped in Australia later this year and comparre it to Sehwag's performance against the same team on same tracks. What's unfari about that?