Shami Ahmed got a 5 wicket haul vs Madhya Pradesh

[vishalvirsingh]

P awana at 150K. Ooooh I don't agree

[msb1991]

RPS bowls between 125K to 136K...that's his speed now a days, even his high energy balls also don't reach 138K...his days of being around 140 are Gone...he is a lil faster than Irfan. Did u guys see pointing swinging the ball and bowling at 120K to 124K...our PK and VK are marginally faster

Regarding RP, I don't think he ever bowled 140kph in any year other than 2007. 2007 seemed to be a peak in terms of pace, he is/was mainly 130kph prior and after that. Of course, when he put on that belly, he lost a few ks, but not that many. Ponting may have been swinging the ball at 120kph, but this is just the reason that I disagree with analyses such as the one taken by RKT. There are too many factors that go into determining whether one is a good bowler. Pace+Swing is clearly not enough. It is obvious that VK and PK are superior bowlers to Ponting.

[express bowling]

Regarding RP, I don't think he ever bowled 140kph in any year other than 2007. 2007 seemed to be a peak in terms of pace, he is/was mainly 130kph prior and after that. Of course, when he put on that belly, he lost a few ks, but not that many. Ponting may have been swinging the ball at 120kph, but this is just the reason that I disagree with analyses such as the one taken by RKT. There are too many factors that go into determining whether one is a good bowler. Pace+Swing is clearly not enough. It is obvious that VK and PK are superior bowlers to Ponting.

Your assessment regarding RP's pace is true. Apart from pace and movement --- accuracy and the ability to bowl to an effective plan are a few of the other factors that go into making a good bowler, which PK and VK have more than Ponting, because they practice much more and perhaps have more inclination towards bowling than Ponting.

[rkt.india]

Regarding RP, I don't think he ever bowled 140kph in any year other than 2007. 2007 seemed to be a peak in terms of pace, he is/was mainly 130kph prior and after that. Of course, when he put on that belly, he lost a few ks, but not that many. Ponting may have been swinging the ball at 120kph, but this is just the reason that I disagree with analyses such as the one taken by RKT. There are too many factors that go into determining whether one is a good bowler. Pace+Swing is clearly not enough. It is obvious that VK and PK are superior bowlers to Ponting.

Well, I did not say that bowler who has all those ingredients I talked about will be a finished article. In fact, most bowlers who make their test debuts are not finished article but they become with experience. They learn in their first few years of test cricket. And I talked about all those raw ingredients to be successful in most conditions. VK and PK are superior to Ponting because they are bowlers, otherwise they are not even superior to debutant Cummins. Regarding bowling with plans and execution of those plans, these things come with experience and a bowler who comes from FC cricket to international cricket whether he has done well at FC level or not has to go through a serious transition phase because of the pressure and standard of international test cricket are high. And then those ingredients come into the game and they are basics of fast bowling according to me and basics are same whether you are playing at FC level or test level. Bowling to plans and execute them is an art as some one said that VK and PK make and execute plans better in their bowling, but I would say they do not have many plans to execute. Their only plan is to bowl straight at around good length and seam and swing the ball from there. They do not have much ability or raw ingredients to do anything than that. They do not have any real bouncer, pace, or reverse swing and that is why they look good as they do not try anything much and bowl straight wicket to wicket and as they do that, they do not spray the ball much too. But this is not good enough to become a successful strike bowler in every condition. You need that x-factor of pace with swing and bounce and when you have pace, reverse swing comes into the play as well. PK and VK bowl well to their limitations and use them to the best and they are good at it as they have enough FC experience and they can be successful whenever conditions suit them, but it does not happen always and everywhere and to get a successful bowler, a strike bowler, towards whom captain can look for to strike, you need to have those ingredients I mentioned.