India's bowling woes

[Sooda]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-new-zealand-2010/content/current/story/487402.html Player after player came to the press conferences and spoke of how this was a better pitch because it had "more bounce". At the end of five days though, the result is exactly the same as it was in Ahmedabad, where Chris Martin's superb new-ball spell in the second innings provided the only drama on a surface every bit as poor as the national highway prepared for Sri Lanka in 2009. India picked up four wickets in two sessions on Monday. Tim Southee was bowled by Sreesanth, who celebrated as though he had just broken the game open. The other three were gifts. Kane Williamson got a terrible decision, Daniel Vettori slapped one to cover with the game safe, and Brendon McCullum skied one after having toyed with the bowling for more than nine hours. What will the "pitch experts" say now? Before they came along to ruin the majority of Indian pitches, the country did produce some engrossing Test matches. You only have to look back at the memorable series against Australia in 2001. Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai all produced results, with the final two games going the distance. Each surface was different from the other, yet they all provided great stages for the tussle between bat and ball. MS Dhoni was scathing in his assessment of the conditions when asked about the 0-0 scoreline heading to Nagpur. "We might have to play 10 days to get a result," he said. "That's what I frankly believe. The wickets have been on the flatter side. We didn't play well for one hour in the last Test, but that aside, there's been little over the 10 days for seam bowlers or spinners." On a day when bowlers from the three highest-ranked teams in the world took a pounding, it might be worthwhile to ponder the wisdom of a Test championship. How exactly will it resuscitate interest in the venerable form of the game when boards and groundsmen worldwide are failing the most basic test? Even New Zealand, once known for its seam-friendly surfaces, has recently come up with pitches that would have done justice to timeless Tests. The pitches in England this past summer sometimes went to the other extreme, but you'd rather have that and the excitement of seeing batsmen tested than games like this, where a total of 500 becomes the mundane norm rather than the exception. Yes, there was bounce on offer in Hyderabad, but at the end of five days, the surface was as free of blemishes as the airbrushed faces in fashion magazines. India are entitled to a little whinge about the lack of deterioration even on the final day, but with the Nagpur Test just days away, energy would be better expended on an analysis of a bowling attack that was once again made to look utterly insipid. Zaheer Khan, who struggled with a groin strain in this game and will miss the next, is exempt from criticism, having taken 41 wickets at 22.92 this year. His strike-rate of 41.2 is outstanding for someone who has played each of those eight Tests on the subcontinent. Dhoni refused to accept suggestions that the team was too reliant on Zaheer, but his response only highlighted how central he is to India's bowling plan. "We have others who have done well," he said. "You can say that he's been our spearhead, whatever the track may be. But we lost him in the middle of this game and it became a bit tough. The other bowlers are doing their job though. With a bit more assistance from the pitch, I hope they'll be able to get batsmen out." As for the support cast, the less said the better. Harbhajan Singh has 31 wickets at 44.7 from nine Tests. He's needed more than 97 balls for each of those wickets. As for Pragyan Ojha, he has 28 wickets at 46.96 from eight games. His strike-rate? 100.3. The fact that they've often had to do containing jobs in the early stages of games on lifeless pitches is a mitigating factor, but what shouldn't be overlooked is how Daniel Vettori has bowled immeasurably better than both so far in the series. Against a better line-up than Harbhajan and Ojha have had to contend with, Vettori has varied his flight and pace beautifully to compensate for the lack of turn and uneven bounce. India's fifth-day bowling, by contrast, was a monotonous succession of balls pushed through at the batsmen, with the field spread out and runs there for the taking. When Zaheer hasn't been taking wickets, with new ball and old, India have largely been devoid of plan B. The default option appears to be containment, and against a team like New Zealand that have played the waiting game with aplomb, it's come a cropper. Instead of forcing the issue with aggressive bowling and fields to back it up, India have gone on the defensive against an opponent too smart to fall for the rope-a-dope. In life, good things might come to those that wait. But in cricket, as in most sport, victory is the preserve of those that make things happen.

[The Realist]

It is scary that the current bowling attack seems to be about the best out of what appears an increasingly bare cupboard. I find it incredible that in a nation of 1 billion and with the riches of T20 there has not been surge in new seamers and spinners coming onto the scene. Surely there are other promising talents out there somewhere?

[VRV Singh]

Ojha seems to bowl marathon spells without getting people out

[fineleg]

I find it incredible that in a nation of 1 billion and with the riches of T20 there has not been surge in new seamers and spinners coming onto the scene.

Kids in India prefer batting??

[Indiafan-Hyd]

One solution might be to give 3or4 times the regular match fee to bowlers at all levels of Indian Cricket. this may encourage cricketers to take up bowling rather than batting

[EnterTheVoid]

:(( I am going to change my name now.

[Sir john]

from the day of kumble retirement our bowling looks very week.

[Deleted_User_1]

India SUCKS!!

[fineleg]

One solution might be to give 3or4 times the regular match fee to bowlers at all levels of Indian Cricket. this may encourage cricketers to take up bowling rather than batting

:two_thumbs_up::two_thumbs_up:

[hari504504]

One solution might be to give 3or4 times the regular match fee to bowlers at all levels of Indian Cricket. this may encourage cricketers to take up bowling rather than batting

Then we will have the other problem.. bunch of Afridis coming through as batsmen...

[Fontaine]

I refuse to believe that the bowling cupboard is bare. We're just going through a tough time right now with injuries and out of form bowlers like RP, Pathan, etc. I have trust in guys like Kirsten/Prasad when they say that Ishant Sharma is one of the hardest working players in the team and all that hard work will pay off soon. I think what we're lacking is genuine competition for the bowling places. It's good to see guys like Mithun/Unaidkat/Yadav coming on and I really believe it's only a matter of time before these young guys start making a genuine push into the test side. In the meantime the BCCI can do their best by supporting these guys with world class training facilities, physios, and sending them to A tours abroad to get them vital exposure.

[hari504504]

In the meantime the BCCI can do their best by supporting these guys with world class training facilities, physios, and sending them to A tours abroad to get them vital exposure.

BCCI were moronic to stop Ishant from playing in the counties this year.

[saneindian]

For a change can we please give them a wicket with some help for the bowlers? Make the best of pacers bowl 30-35 overs every innings on patta wickets day in and out, and even the best bowling attacks will lose their sting. I am so happy we dont have to play any test matches at home for nearly an year after the 3rd test at nagpur. The same set of bowlers who are being questioned currently will do well in the balanced conditions of SA, Eng and hopefully WI in the 10-11 tests we are likely to play before we play our next home test.

[King Tendulkar]

Our bowlers will look good in SA and like world beaters in England. Its all about the pitches folks. Trust me if sree, zk and ishant had bowled on pitches last summer in england they would have caused mayhem

[Lord]

no point crying about wickets,we r playing NZ not SA,this side was beaten by BD in ODIs where they r supposed to be much better than tests.our bowlers are pathetic apart from Zak.in this test,there was enough turn n bounce there provided they tossed the ball up but they kept bowling darts..the captaincy was defensive too.no pressure on McCullum n little on others

[hari504504]

no point crying about wickets' date='we r playing NZ not SA,this side was beaten by BD in ODIs where they r supposed to be much better than tests.our bowlers are pathetic apart from Zak.in this test,there was enough turn n bounce there provided they tossed the ball up but they kept bowling darts..the captaincy was defensive too.no pressure on McCullum n little on others[/quote'] Are you Bishan Singh Bedi ?? :haha:

[Lord]

Are you Bishan Singh Bedi ?? :haha:

so u r the one who believes every time our bowlers fail to take wickets,its coz of the pitch?

[Online]

am I reading the thread title correctly?

[Sachinism]

Who's messing with the thread title :bb:

[ZodiaC]

no point crying about wickets' date='we r playing NZ not SA,this side was beaten by BD in ODIs where they r supposed to be much better than tests.our bowlers are pathetic apart from Zak.in this test,there was enough turn n bounce there provided they tossed the ball up but they kept bowling darts..the captaincy was defensive too.no pressure on McCullum n little on others[/quote'] I agree with you on this, pitches were not that flat as some say, it was more than decent and we should've done much better than this. And only Vettori has played before against us at home in this squad. That makes it sound even worse.