Kirsten concerned about 'highly skilled' Sreesanth

[achilles]

A bit of concentration can go a long way.

[rkt.india]

His issue in the final was that he burnt himself out in the first few overs. He absolutely charged in, trying to bowl as quick as possible. Not only did this result in poor deliveries, which were luckily not punished, but he completely burned himself out. Check out his run up in his later overs, he was long striding to the crease and struggling to get there and there was absolutely no explosion at delivery. Quite simply, he tired himself out bowling his first three or four overs. Until he has a consistent run up and bowling action, he will not be a good bowler. I compare him to Saj Mahmood, who also does not appear to 'know' his bowling action well enough to repeat it ball after ball.

Completely agree and I would say he lacks the fitness to go all out...he did bowl quick in first 2-3 overs but then got tiired like Akhtar used to

[kabira]

He is skilled no doubt there, but we want a consistent bowler. If Zaheer can become great bowler in 4 years, he can do the same thing. He just needs to get his act together. Not sure who can work with him on that. May be Srinath??

[msb1991]

I agree with this. He did look tired after the first few overs. Bowling in the Mumbai heat and humidity is not easy. But he has a tendency to let the pressure get to him when a batsman attacks him. All those no balls and free hits were just freebies. It reverses the momentum and puts the pressure back on the fielding side.

Completely agree and I would say he lacks the fitness to go all out...he did bowl quick in first 2-3 overs but then got tiired like Akhtar used to

It is not necessarily an issue with his fitness. No one has the stamina to run in as quick as he did for his first few overs. He should have realized this. This is not to say that he should bowl at 125kph or anything like that, just that he should have ran in at a speed that could be maintained for 10 overs. The comparison with Akhtar is appropriate. Akhtar could unsettle opposition if he bowled a few overs at 150kph, Sreesanth will unsettle no one with a few overs at 140kph.

[BeautifulGame]

People are critizising Sreesanth way too much.At the start he bowled really well despite the occasion of world cup final.When he came back the pitch really eased out and the outfield was rapid.Every pace bowler who bowled their second spells were taken for cleaners including Zaheer and Malinga. My only issue with him in ODIs is extras.If he can control them he will be very good in ODIs for a long time.As for tests he has been very consistent since his comeback vs Srilanka in 2009

[Fontaine]

The guy obviously has a ton of talent and great seam position on the ball. At this stage he's been coached by Prasad, Donald, Simmons and many others so it's not up to others but Sreesanth himself to concentrate on knowing his opposition, knowing his own bowling to get the best out of it. Zaheer is the perfect example. He just knows how to get batsmen out, preying on their weaknesses. Even at this stage of his career he's still eager to learn things. His slow knuckle ball was pretty new in the last few months and that shows the kind of mastery he has on his bowling and knowing he needs to improve all the time. The opposite seems true for Sreesanth. He focuses far too much on the aggression, verbals, and drama rather than learning new skills and perfecting his stock deliveries.

[Karan114]

People are critizising Sreesanth way too much.At the start he bowled really well despite the occasion of world cup final.When he came back the pitch really eased out and the outfield was rapid.Every pace bowler who bowled their second spells were taken for cleaners including Zaheer and Malinga. My only issue with him in ODIs is extras.If he can control them he will be very good in ODIs for a long time.As for tests he has been very consistent since his comeback vs Srilanka in 2009

Don't agree with this. Zak bowled a great spell and put a lot of pressure on them. Sreesanth was a little short at times, he let the pressure off a little bit. If the Lankan batsmen weren't as nervous as they were, they would have made him pay a lot more than they did (whereas against Zak they simply weren't able to do anything such was the quality of his bowling).

[rkt.india]

It is not necessarily an issue with his fitness. No one has the stamina to run in as quick as he did for his first few overs. He should have realized this. This is not to say that he should bowl at 125kph or anything like that' date= just that he should have ran in at a speed that could be maintained for 10 overs. The comparison with Akhtar is appropriate. Akhtar could unsettle opposition if he bowled a few overs at 150kph, Sreesanth will unsettle no one with a few overs at 140kph.

You are wrong...Guys like Morkel, Roach, Steyn, Brett Lee, Gul has bowled faster than him in this WC and consistently for 10 overs...they rarely dropped pace. He bowled quick just for 2 overs and looked like he bowled 20 overs in a day. Its the case of stamina and fitness which he should work on if he wants to bowl fast...otherwise he will burn out

[yoda]

Remember a commentator saying that Malinga practiced for hours trying to hit a pair shoes he would place on the opposite batting crease to learn his Yorkers? Sree needs to do something similar to get his accuracy under control. He simply doesn't have any control over where he delivers the ball. It is pretty much a coin toss in his case.

[BeautifulGame]

Don't agree with this. Zak bowled a great spell and put a lot of pressure on them. Sreesanth was a little short at times' date=' he let the pressure off a little bit. If the Lankan batsmen weren't as nervous as they were, they would have made him pay a lot more than they did (whereas against Zak they simply weren't able to do anything such was the quality of his bowling).[/quote'] Zak was exceptional but he bowled almost all his deliveries to Tharanga whereas Sreesanth bowled well to Dilshan at the start.He bowled lot of good deliveries and he had not bowled those extras his return would have been much better. Zak bowled great but he is very experienced but Sreesanth bowled well too particularly when u consider he was suddenly drafted into a WORLD CUP FINAL . We just have to remember Zak's performance in 2003 to understand how this occasion gets ito young bowlers nerves

[Karan114]

Zak was exceptional but he bowled almost all his deliveries to Tharanga whereas Sreesanth bowled well to Dilshan at the start.He bowled lot of good deliveries and he had not bowled those extras his return would have been much better. Zak bowled great but he is very experienced but Sreesanth bowled well too particularly when u consider he was suddenly drafted into a WORLD CUP FINAL . We just have to remember Zak's performance in 2003 to understand how this occasion gets ito young bowlers nerves

I don't agree that Sree bowled many good deliveries, even considering it was Dilshan. Though I accept that suddenly being drafted into a WC final not having played for six weeks was really tough on him (or any player).

[Rana]

He has a thrill about him unlike the majority of pacers in India. He needs a few good spells at his homw Ground where the crowed really back him. Im sure he cn produce the goods then.

[Karan114]

Remember a commentator saying that Malinga practiced for hours trying to hit a pair shoes he would place on the opposite batting crease to learn his Yorkers? Sree needs to do something similar to get his accuracy under control. He simply doesn't have any control over where he delivers the ball. It is pretty much a coin toss in his case.

Yeah I heard that line about Malinga too, I think it was Arnold? Apparently he just practices and practises doing that even when not on tour with Lanka. A while back I think it was Donald who commented that Sree's preparation and practice routines need to improve, having seen him at Warwickshire? That control will only come if he is willing to dedicate himself to just bowling and bowling in the nets.

[rkt.india]

Remember a commentator saying that Malinga practiced for hours trying to hit a pair shoes he would place on the opposite batting crease to learn his Yorkers? Sree needs to do something similar to get his accuracy under control. He simply doesn't have any control over where he delivers the ball. It is pretty much a coin toss in his case.

Practice is everything yaar..Most of our bowlers do not do this...that is why they lose their actions and run ups after coming into the Indian team...They need to bowl a lot of overs in the nets to get that perfection. I myself have been a pace bowler, though at a very low level, and bowled in the nets a lot and practiced a lot and I know how important it is to practice hard to get your bowling right...it does wonders to the stamina. I used to bowl 5-6 overs on the trot without anyone bowling with me continuously without any break. I liked it always. There is no shortcut for this and it does not happen automatically. If Sreeshanth says he is passionate, he must not run away form hard yards..that will tak ehim a long way

[msb1991]

The guy obviously has a ton of talent and great seam position on the ball. At this stage he's been coached by Prasad, Donald, Simmons and many others so it's not up to others but Sreesanth himself to concentrate on knowing his opposition, knowing his own bowling to get the best out of it. Zaheer is the perfect example. He just knows how to get batsmen out, preying on their weaknesses. Even at this stage of his career he's still eager to learn things. His slow knuckle ball was pretty new in the last few months and that shows the kind of mastery he has on his bowling and knowing he needs to improve all the time. The opposite seems true for Sreesanth. He focuses far too much on the aggression, verbals, and drama rather than learning new skills and perfecting his stock deliveries.

Agree 100%. The Zaheer knuckle ball is an exceptional ball. It turned a few matches for India and when he gets it straight, to a lot of top order batsman, it is pretty much an automatic wicket. I think it really could work in Test matches too. If you get the speed of the ball 15kph wrong, you will miss a regular Test match shot.

Don't agree with this. Zak bowled a great spell and put a lot of pressure on them. Sreesanth was a little short at times' date=' he let the pressure off a little bit. If the Lankan batsmen weren't as nervous as they were, they would have made him pay a lot more than they did (whereas against Zak they simply weren't able to do anything such was the quality of his bowling).[/quote'] Yes. Sreesanth bowled a bit wayward, he got away with a few loose balls.

[Indian Pride]

A spell in county cricket will do him good.

[Fontaine]

Practice is everything yaar..Most of our bowlers do not do this...that is why they lose their actions and run ups after coming into the Indian team...They need to bowl a lot of overs in the nets to get that perfection. . . If Sreeshanth says he is passionate, he must not run away form hard yards..that will tak ehim a long way

That's not correct. Nehra went through months of rehab, and hard work each time he suffered through numerous ankle injuries. Prasad, Kirsten and others have routinely said Ishant works extremely hard while with Zaheer it's obvious. The only specific bowler with questionable work habits is Sreesanth and that's fairly obvious with his hit and miss results given the amount of chances and experience he has.

[Karan114]

End of the day, Kirsten's words carry a lot of weight given how every member of the squad has personally acknowledged his hard work and contribution to both Indian cricket and their own games. If even he is saying that Sreesanth is in danger of wasting a special talent, it should get alarm bells ringing even more for Sree. He is 28 - no longer a youngster, but he can still have some excellent years for India if he is willing to put in the hard yards in training. But it is all up to him.

[Sachin=GOD]

I think it was Michael Holding who said something like this about Sreesanth - "he has been in international cricket for 5 or 6 years and if, after having been there for so many years he has not been able to sort out his temperament problems then not many people can help him".

[msb1991]

Wow, he is 28? He really has wasted his talent!