The Philander puzzle

[rkt.india]

Fifty one wickets at 14.15 runs per wicket in seven Test matches, against three different opponents. Ten wickets in a match twice, five wickets in an innings six times, and four-fors twice. Vernon Philander has been a phenomenon that has taken Test cricket by storm. Philander is the second-fastest in Test history to 50 wickets, and those 50 came at the speed at which Usain Bolt runs. It was as if every time Philander bowled an away-going delivery, it found the outside edge of the batsman's bat and then the safe hands of the wicketkeeper or slips. And every time the ball nipped back after pitching, it eluded the bat and either trapped the batsman in front or disturbed the stumps behind him. So it is surprising that there is nothing really extraordinary about Philander's bowling. He has simply relied on the basics of maintaining a disciplined line and length - a strategy he believes "works anywhere in the world". Surely, though, there must be something that made him so much more successful than most have managed to be at the start of a career? And why isn't the magic working in England at the moment? This is an attempt to decode the Philander puzzle. Movement off the surface without any visible hints Philander looks quite innocuous when compared to his fast bowling colleagues, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn. He doesn't have the disconcerting bounce that Morkel can achieve, nor does he get the ball to swing prodigiously in the air at high speeds like Steyn does. He's not as tall as Morkel nor does he run in as fast as Steyn. But Philander compensates for the lack of these natural gifts by getting the ball to dart around after pitching, without giving clues about where it will go. Thousands of hours of practice hardwire a batsman to look for certain clues in a bowler's action - like the wrist position at the time of release, the position of the seam, and which way the shiny side faces in the air - to predict the ball's behaviour in the air and off the surface. If the ball starts swinging in one direction the moment it leaves the bowler's hand, you can assume with a reasonable degree of confidence that it is unlikely to dart the other way after pitching. For example, if a bowler bowls a good outswinger, the chances of the delivery coming in to the right-hander after pitching are minimal. Batsmen comfortable against the moving ball have mastered the art of playing in that imaginary second line. Unfortunately, this theory isn't going to help batsmen facing Philander, because his deliveries rarely move in the air before pitching, especially when the ball is a few overs old. He delivers it with a completely upright seam, and nothing in his wrist position or action betrays his intentions with regard to movement off the surface. As a batsman, you can only prepare for what you can see, and if the ball hasn't moved an inch before it lands, it's fair to assume it won't do so after pitching. But that isn't always the case with Philander's deliveries, most of which change direction after hitting the surface. This forces the batsman to read him off the pitch. Most batsmen struggle even when reading a spinner off the surface because there is so little time to adjust, so you can imagine their plight against a quicker bowler like Philander. Teasing and testing line and length For all the movement he gets off the surface, Philander would be only half the bowler he is if he bowled a few inches left or right of the line he bowls currently. He bowls from fairly close to the stumps and maintains a line consistently on the fourth or fifth stump - a few inches outside off. His length is also a bit fuller than Steyn's and Morkel's, so it not only forces the batsman to get on the front foot, it also ensures that the ball can't be left on bounce - since it is always around knee high. Since the batsman is forced to get on the front foot, there isn't enough time to adjust for lateral movement off the surface. Lowering the guard Would you rather face Steyn, Morkel or Philander? Ten out of ten batsmen will choose Philander over the other two, seven days a week. The fact that he has been taking wickets with alarming regularity is unlikely to influence their decision - an irrational one - because batsmen are conditioned to believe that a lot of swing, disconcerting bounce and genuinely fast bowling are more difficult to tackle than subtle movement off the pitch. However, the level of difficulty a bowler poses isn't always directly proportional to the number of wickets he takes. There are lots of bowlers who look very dangerous but don't bowl enough wicket-taking deliveries. It doesn't come as a surprise that most batsmen automatically concentrate harder when facing the likes of Steyn and Morkel, and are happy to switch ends to face Philander instead. If you are happy to face a certain bowler, the odds of lowering your guard against him increase. While Philander's line and length force a batsman to play at almost everything, his pace - or the lack of it, when compared to his bowling partners - makes him the more desirable bowler to face. For these reasons, he could be a very potent partnership breaker in slightly seamer-friendly conditions. But the first two Test matches in England have exposed him to the thorny side of international cricket. Philander is at his best when the ball zips off the surface, because it reduces the time the batsman has to adjust to the lateral movement. The moist and soft English pitches may have offered him movement, but because they are also slow, England's batsmen have had the much-needed extra time to make the right adjustments. Unless he makes some adjustments of his own, Philander is likely to struggle in dry subcontinental conditions as well, because those placid tracks won't provide the substantial sideways movement he relies on, and the lack of pace will give the batsman a fraction extra time. Philander has impressed us with his speed in the 100-metre dash. Now he needs to brace himself for the marathon that is international cricket.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/578157.html

[Old guy]

he has brain and he uses it along with it good enough control to back his plans and with steyn and morkel bowling form other end its bit easier bowled really well yesterday again

[Sooda]

^:cantstop: At full strength SA could opt for De lange on flatter wickets...

[rkt.india]

Bowling record this series. Most wickets Player Mat Inns Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 5 10 DW Steyn (SA) 3* 5 115.0 26 377 14 5/56 7/155 26.92 3.27 49.2 1 0 M Morkel (SA) 3* 5 111.2 21 322 11 4/72 5/113 29.27 2.89 60.7 0 0 SCJ Broad (Eng) 3* 5 119.4 23 390 10 5/69 8/165 39.00 3.25 71.8 1 0 VD Philander (SA) 3* 5 106.0 30 254 7 2/48 3/98 36.28 2.39 90.8 0 0 ST Finn (Eng) 2* 4 75.0 8 276 7 4/75 5/103 39.42 3.68 64.2 0 0 Imran Tahir (SA) 3* 5 92.4 10 290 7 3/63 4/124 41.42 3.12 79.4 0 0 JM Anderson (Eng) 3* 5 131.2 31 325 7 3/76 3/101 46.42 2.47 112.5 0 0 KP Pietersen (Eng) 2 3 19.0 1 91 4 3/52 4/78 22.75 4.78 28.5 0 0 JH Kallis (SA) 3* 5 54.0 16 130 3 2/38 2/60 43.33 2.40 108.0 0 0 GP Swann (Eng) 2* 3 96.2 21 252 3 2/63 3/101 84.00 2.61 192.6 0 0 TT Bresnan (Eng) 2 3 73.0 8 278 2 1/98 1/138 139.00 3.80 219.0 0 0 JP Duminy (SA) 3* 4 11.0 2 28 1 1/10 1/15 28.00 2.54 66.0 0 0 IJL Trott (Eng) 3* 3 15.0 2 35 0 - - - 2.33 - 0 0 RS Bopara (Eng) 1 1 18.0 1 78 0 - - - 4.33 - 0 0 The Great James Anderson average 46, SR 112. :giggle:

[CricLind]

He has undoubtedly been underwhelming in Tests against England.

[Old guy]

He has undoubtedly been underwhelming in Tests against England.

he is doing well enough yesterday he bowled a beaut over to bell and got him :hatsoff:

[Trichromatic]

He is very good option for SA. Having all three pacers like Philander might not be good for a team, but along with a tall, phasst bowler and a world class bowler he forms right combination.

[Old guy]

He is very good option for SA. Having all three pacers like Philander might not be good for a team' date=' but along with a tall, phasst bowler and a world class bowler he forms right combination.[/quote'] yep..he is perfect for them he keeps things very tight and always gets the wickets too actually he bowled better then gr8 jimmy anderson :P u cant complain he can get set people out too but people need to watch matches and see how well philander was bowling according to his role ..de lange can easily replace tahir in home conditions and this is by far the world's best attack

[J P K]

we have our own philander philander kumar :proud:

[Trichromatic]

we have our own philander philander kumar :proud:

But we don't have two different types of fast bowlers. :winky: PK would have very good for India if we had at least one fast bowler who could lead the bowling attack.

[Old guy]

But we don't have two different types of fast bowlers. :winky: PK would have very good for India if we had at least one fast bowler who could lead the bowling attack.

and if our home conditions were not spin friendly :giggle:

[Trichromatic]

and if our home conditions were not spin friendly :giggle:

Lol, if home conditions were regularly spinner friendly then it would not have been big issue for 2 pacers. Spinner friendly conditions are not that bad for pacers. Srinath destroyed other teams at home in such conditions (averages probably 26 at home). It's road which hurt bowlers.

[J P K]

But we don't have two different types of fast bowlers. :winky: PK would have very good for India if we had at least one fast bowler who could lead the bowling attack.

yup

and if our home conditions were not spin friendly :giggle:

if we want our team to perform well abroad then we need to find fast bowler our spinners don`t perform well outside subcontinent unless we find a spinner like kumble again

[Crookbond]

RKT, Quote kar na Internet waale text ko! :mad:

[rkt.india]

RKT' date=' Quote kar na Internet waale text ko! :mad:[/quote'] Aaye haye ye quote...kar diya yaar

[Old guy]

Lol' date=' if home conditions were regularly spinner friendly then it would not have been big issue for 2 pacers. Spinner friendly conditions are not that bad for pacers. Srinath destroyed other teams at home in such conditions (averages probably 26 at home). It's road which hurt bowlers.[/quote'] yes even pacers like yadav,ishant will do well at home but not tundlersl ike pk,philander

[Old guy]

yup if we want our team to perform well abroad then we need to find fast bowler our spinners don`t perform well outside subcontinent unless we find a spinner like kumble again

we are gonna go down badly now :P but thing is most teams are falling other then england and south africa

[Trichromatic]

yes even pacers like yadav' date='ishant will do well at home but not tundlersl ike pk,philander[/quote'] Anyone can do better than Ishant.

[Old guy]

Anyone can do better than Ishant.

in india our manhoos bowler has done well :--D

[rkt.india]

Anyone can do better than Ishant.

What are you talking about? Check Ishant's record in India, you will know about that, exclude WI series last year which was the only series he has been ineffective in India and he has an average of 28 in India. He has been instrumental in India reaching #1 along with Zak because our spin bowling even at home has been ineffective in recent 3-4 years.