Anticipating Zaheer v/s Strauss

[Sidhoni]

S Rajesh June 10, 2011 England's batsmen have piling on the runs over the last 18 months in Tests, but two key members of their top order have not been at their best during this period. Kevin Pietersen's loss of form and his problems with left-arm spin (and other kinds of bowling) were examined last week; this time, the focus is on England's captain and his battles against left-arm fast bowling. In the Lord's Test against Sri Lanka, Strauss was dismissed lbw twice by Chanaka Welegedara, taking his overall Test dismissals against left-arm fast bowling to 22. Welegedara will obviously look to target him again in the third Test in Southampton, but looking further ahead, this apparent weakness will also excite Zaheer Khan. India will play four Tests in England later this summer, and Zaheer has been India's go-to man over the last couple of years, especially in overseas Tests. Strauss, on the other hand, has had a fairly ordinary run lately, scoring only one century in his last 24 innings against all sides excluding Bangladesh, and averaging less than 30. In these 15 Tests, three England batsmen have averaged more than 60, and four more - including Pietersen and Paul Collingwood - have higher averages than Strauss. A strong performance in the third Test will go a long way towards silencing his critics and boosting his confidence. Strauss has had a few problems against good left-arm fast bowling, but over the last 18 months these seem to have been exacerbated to such an extent that it is clearly his greatest weakness. In fact, his overall average during this period has fallen only because of his weakness against this type of attack: against all other bowling, he averages a highly acceptable 44.87, but against left-arm pace it drops to a dismal 12.40. Mohammad Amir has dismissed him four times during this period, while Welegedara, Wahab Riaz, Wayne Parnell and Doug Bollinger have all had some success against him. The only such bowler Strauss has handled comfortably during this period is Mitchell Johnson, against whom he has scored 65 runs for one dismissal. Contrast this with his stats against left-arm pace before December 2009. In 67 Tests during that period, Strauss fell only 12 times to left-arm pace, and his average didn't suggest he had a particular weakness against them. Recently, though, the stats are completely different. Andrew Strauss against various types of bowling. Among left-arm fast bowlers, Amir and Zaheer have been the biggest threats to Strauss. Amir nailed his man four times in four Tests, conceding fewer than 10 runs per wicket, while Zaheer's strike rate is also one dismissal per Test. Both bowlers have also kept Strauss on a tight leash: he has barely managed to score at two runs per over against them. Four bowlers have dismissed Strauss more than five times, but they've also played more often against him. Strauss's best year against left-arm pace was 2009, when his average against them was a stunning 164. That, though, was largely thanks to Johnson's waywardness in the Ashes that season - in 175 balls, he leaked 116 runs to Strauss and dismissed him only once. Andrew Strauss against Lefties- On the other hand, Zaheer has got better with time against left-hand batsmen. In the first six years of his international career, there was little to separate his stats against left- and right-handers. (The numbers below exclude Zaheer's first four Tests, since ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball data wasn't available then.) When he first started playing Test cricket, Zaheer seldom swung the ball back into the right-hander (or away from the left-hander). Over time he has developed and mastered this skill, and his ability to move it both ways from a length around off stump has brought him rich rewards. Since 2007, his average against left-handers has dropped to less than 25, and he has continually improved from there, dismissing more left-hand batsmen than right-hand ones over the last three years. Since the beginning of 2010 he has taken 28 left-handers' wickets at a fantastic average of 14.46, which is less than half his average against right-handers. During this period he has dismissed Graeme Smith four times, and Imrul Kayes, Johnson, Tim McIntosh and Tamim Iqbal three times each. The table(plz visit link to see) below shows Zaheer has had plenty of success against top-order left-hand batsmen, but what's even more interesting is the manner in which he has gradually improved his stats against these players. He has dismissed Matthew Hayden seven times, but three of those dismissals came in the last series they played each other in, in 2008-09 - Hayden's average against Zaheer in that series was 24.33. Kumar Sangakkara averaged 59 in his first series against Zaheer, in 2001, but in the last two series - which have both been played in the last three years - he was dismissed five times by Zaheer, and averaged 20.60. Similarly, Graeme Smith averaged 57.50 in his first two series against Zaheer (115 runs, two dismissals), but in his last two series the average against Zaheer has dropped to 15.75 (63 runs, four dismissals). The last time Zaheer toured England, in 2007, he dismissed Strauss four times in the Tests, at an average of 17.25 runs per dismissal. The left-hand opener in Sri Lanka's team is far more inexperienced, but perhaps Strauss could have a word with Tharanga Paranavitana, who has been technically sound and composed in the Tests so far in England. He has also tackled Zaheer better than most left-handers in recent times - in the series in India in 2009-10, Paranavitana faced 123 deliveries from Zaheer, scored 76 runs, and wasn't dismissed even once. Strauss' opening partner, Alastair Cook, has been in the form of his life recently, and hasn't done badly against Zaheer either, scoring 117 runs at more than four per over, though Zaheer has dismissed him three times. http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/518525.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ These stats show how terrific Zak has been against Lefties.Go ZAk GO!!!! :cheer: Waiting to see Cook and Strauss clueless against him.:cheer: Waiting to see Cook and Strauss clueless against him. P.S. :- Sorry for the inconvenience , plz visit the link to see the stats tables.

[Sidhoni]

I have given proper spaces in the tables, but it still is looking terrible :dontknow: I am removing the tables, anyone who wants to see them an click the link i have mentioned.

[J P K]

let zak get fit for england tour he has not recovered fully from his injury :nervous:

[Sidhoni]

let zak get fit for england tour he has not recovered fully from his injury :nervous:

He has taken rest from this series to give his injury some time to recover, lets hope its absolutely fine b4 the English tour :nervous:

[Cricket Tragic]

Out to a left arm seamer again!

[Pagalpanti]

He will trouble Strauss for sure but it will be interesting to see if he causes any trouble to Cook who has been in superb form for a quite a while now.

[Sachinism]

Thread title should be Anticipating Zaheer embarrass Strauss

[deepak_sach]

Cook will be cooked by Zaheer

[vvvslaxman]

We just need RP singh as well.

[say2chander]

what about cook and trott ? TBH England sir is better than India at the moment. Our batting is as good as theirs or you can say slightly more experienced. But overall I would bet england to win.

[gakgupta]

Love to see this battle. Zak ended hayden's career, made a joke of Mc intosh(nz opener) on indian flat tracks and scared graeme smith in his own backyard. Might end andrew strauss career too....and make cook's batting averges look ordinary

[Karan114]

Love to see this battle. Zak ended hayden's career' date=' [b']made a joke of Mc intosh(nz opener) on indian flat tracks and scared graeme smith in his own backyard. Might end andrew strauss career too....and make cook's batting averges look ordinary

Zak is undoubtedly brilliant against even the best left handed batsmen, but to be fair it doesn't take much to make a joke of that McIntosh fella :haha:

[cameron_black]

well, strauss has been out of form from the start of this season and getting him out cheaply isn't the best thing that india can do. concentrating more on how to dismiss the likes of cook, trott and bell will do a world of good.

[Ramzz]

Don't worry, an out of form batsmen will always come back to form against India.

[Cricket Tragic]

Don't worry' date=' an out of form batsmen will always come back to form against India.[/quote'] :cantstop:

[say2chander]

Haha. Adding list of batsman who made most against India: Jayasurya, Chanderpaul, Hayden, Younis Khan, Kallis

[Sidhoni]

HE has always dominated left handers, and will surely do so against Cook and Strauss.

[Sidhoni]

BUMP Zak does not bowl in 2nd innings to keep Strauss guessing.

[Fontaine]

Don't worry' date=' an out of form batsmen will always come back to form against India.[/quote'] No kidding. The last time Strauss was out of form as well and he scored a century against us I think.

[crics]

Andrew Strauss denies his nemesis Zaheer Khan at Taunton English test skipper, Andrew Strauss, subdued his nemesis, Zaheer Khan, as he successfully denied the wares of the Indian left-arm seamer by serving the “Men in Blue†with an impressive 78 off 98 deliveries, while appearing as a guest for the Somerset side. Before the game Strauss said, “It will be a perfect preparation for the first Test but it will not guarantee anything for it.†Strauss, reputed for suffering against the likes of left-armers, has been dismissed 5-times at the hands of Indian prodigy, Zaheer Khan. However, on Friday, the 34-year-old punished the Indian bowling attack as he hit them for 16-boundaries, once again proving himself a torrid customer at the crease. Now the Middlesex player will step into the inaugural Test against the visitors at Lord’s with the much needed psychological advantage he gained after seeking special permission to play in the warm-up against India. With an intention to improve his performance, Strauss opened the innings for the Somerset County and registered an impactful half-century in just 63-balls. Lady luck assisted the left-hander at a few occasions when the umpire turned down a close LBW appeal from Zaheer and Amit Mishra dropped the English captain on 64. Prior to his innings at Taunton, Strauss faced formidable criticism from critics who questioned his technical proficiency against the left-arm seamers, but the English Test skipper responded in a decent fashion as he provided an opening stand of 101-run alongside Arul Suppiah. Somerset opening star, Arul Suppiah, enjoyed more limelight than Strauss as he smashed his way to 156 off 259 deliveries. The 27-year-old thrashed the Indian bowling attack all over the park as his innings onslaught comprised of 15 boundaries, fortified with a towering six. However, events may unfold differently at Lord’s, where the series will kick off as India will collide against the English side in the first encounter of the npower Test series, on July 21, 2011. Zaheer khan will bowl with much more speed and swing, supporting the promising youngster Ishant Sharma, who has all the credentials to annihilate any batting attack with the amount of pace and bounce he accumulates on the basis of his height. After hunting the Lankan Lions at home, Andrew Strauss, alongside his men, is all set to defeat the reigning World Champions in the upcoming series to clinch the number one spot in Test cricket. On the other hand team India will be looking forward to a tough competition against the hosts as they are well aware of their potential to bamboozle any opponent, especially on home soil. Link