Pace bowling and development of a pace bowler in India

[Chandan]

Prem Panicker writes about this story: Team India and specifically its captain Anil Kumble believes in the need for bowling cover in Oz and pitch for a 17th member; the BCCI for once stops counting pennies long enough to sanction this; Munaf Patel—a hit the deck bowler capable of generating pace and bounce—is identified as the bowler the team would like to have along; physio John Gloster believes the bowler could do with some match practice before he takes the flight—thus far, all clear. And then, typically, the confusion begins. Everyone acts on presumption, no one talks to anyone—how, in today’s day and age, do you have such a situation? Consider, finally, the absolutely callous way the BCCI handles the whole situation:

The confusion began when Indian team physio John Gloster advised that the bowler needed more match practice. The selectors also wanted him to train at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) under Dav Whatmore and his staff.

But all that was not communicated to Munaf by the Board. Instead sources close to the bowler claim he was asked to rest at his hometown Ikhar

.

BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah refused to comment on the faux paus. “Match-practice is more important, he could have played the last two rounds. Now he can play the domestic One-dayers to prove his fitness,†said Shah.

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And we are cursing Munaf here???

[msb1991]

Ah! Chaos! Sending Munaf to the NCA is a perfect move, but somebody tell him:pray::hysterical: On a serious note, I think it would be wise to send Munaf Patel to the NCA for the entire off season after this one and have him really work on fitness with a secondary focus on keeping bowling skills up. He was bowling at good pace during the Pakistan Tests (125-142kph), but it seemed he could not bowl very long spells, nor could he survive the three Tests without an injury. If he could reach a point where he could run in and bowl at 90% for a whole spell, he could be a really good opening bowler in Tests.

[msb1991]

Whilst the topic of rotation is hot on the presses, do you people agree that a pitch specific tactic of selection would be most useful, even if it upsets team balance and possibly leads to the dropping of a strong player. For example, not picking Zaheer Khan in home fixtures, because of his shocking performances in India at Test level. 42 wickets at 40.09 is pretty poor, but should we keep him for the sake of mentality and a settled attack, or should he be 'rested' for home Tests? Likewise, should we go with somebody like Bose if a greentop presents itself? These two people are merely examples, but the point is, should we go with a settled attack or vary depending on the conditions?

[cochise]

Vary. Cohesiveness notwithstanding. It has the added benefit of keeping the quickies on their toes and performing for their place...trying to out do each other on whatever given surface.

[Chandan]

Mental strength counts more than physical Makarand Waingankar Shaun Tait’s decision to take an indefinite break from the game has shocked the cricketing world. One expected the 24-year-old to terrorise batsmen with the speed he was generating on any surface. Though Tait may not have said a word about the pressures at home or problems of preparing to excel at the international level, it’s a possibility that not doing well at Perth may have disheartened him. The Australians saw Jeff Thomson in Shaun Tait. They expected him to bulldoze the opposition. Little did they realise that Tait wasn’t mentally as strong as Thomson, despite the physical comparisons. Frank Tyson, one of the fastest bowlers in the game’s history, always maintained that the modern cricketers tend to spend too much time conditioning their physique but seem to be spending hardly any time conditioning their mental faculties. The point is technical and physical capabilities don’t take cricketers anywhere if they are mentally not strong enough to withstand the pressure in the middle. There have been cases in Indian cricket of players with less ability succeeding at the international level because of their temperament, while some who had superb technique didn’t have the temperament to take on the opposition. Bowling 2200 overs in matches apart from bowling in the nets in the past four seasons, at an average of 550 overs per season at the speed of 160 km, Tait must have worked very hard to maintain his rhythm. Not only must this have been draining on his energy levels, but the returns were also not encouraging. He took five wickets in three Tests at an average of 60.40 and 33 wickets in 18 ODI’s at an average of 23.45 with an economy rate of 5.46. It was at that time the process of checking his state of mental conditioning would have given some indication of problems. Tait needed rest to come back fresh. Fast bowlers are a different breed. Their physique, technique, temperament and recovery period form the base of their approach to the game. By nature, they are supposed to be aggressive and that aggression has to be understood, especially while bowling on the placid tracks of the sub-continent. Analysing the psyche When a fast bowler is struggling with his rhythm, he is mentally down and expects reassurance from the coach of his capabilities. The last thing he needs is technical lectures, as he is mentally not prepared to grasp solutions. Once he is reassured of his capabilities, he would then be ready to work on the solutions. Having been a fast bowler himself, the Indian bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad must have analysed the psyche of fast bowlers, studied the workload and trained them to the individual specifics to make them effective in matches. Shaun Tait is a case study for all the coaches. Here is a case that makes us understand the vital value of the role of a counselling psychologist in every state team and even at the NCA for the growth of a modern cricketer. As Ricky Ponting said, “cricket is not about the five-star facilities. It’s much more than that.” Hopefully, the cash-rich BCCI will take cognizance of the pressures an Indian fast bowler faces. We need to adopt scientific measures at the National Cricket Academy to ensure fast bowling talent is nurtured. ----------------------------------------------- Can Munaf be brought back on track through counselling? There is certainly some communication problem between authorities and Munaf because when he had started in 2006, there was no problem whatsoever of not showing a big heart or being reluctant. It was only after he got injured during the SA series that all the problems began. If Munaf gets back to his original self, we'll have one more test bowler ready.

[Chandan]

BCCI identifies 13 bowlers with suspect action If it is felt that these bowlers require assis- tance, they will be sent for correcting their action to the National Cricket Academy PROF RATNAKAR SHETTI, Chief Administrative Officer, BCCI. Subhash Rajta/Amol Karhadkar New Delhi THE ISSUE of bowlers with suspect action at the domestic level is quite serious, what with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) identifying as many as 13 bowlers with flawed action in the last Ranji Trophy season. The number - probably the largest ever in a single season should cause serious concern amongst the authorities for it indicates that the problem is on the rise. Agreeing that the revelation is quite worrying, a BCCI oncial said the large number of identified players could partly be attributed to the board's proactive approach to weed out the problem. "We have been pretty strict on anything we found doubtfuL The idea is to identify and then rectify the flaw at the earliest so that these boys don't have to suffer latet:" the official said on condition of anonymity. Confirming this, Prof Ratnakar Shetty, the Board's Chief Administrative Offices said all offenders were detected during the Ranji Trophy, thanks to the video cameras installed to assist the umpires' coaches. "While going through the video footage for assessing the umpires' performance, S Venkataraghavan (BCCI's Director of Umpires and former India captain) has noticed some bowlers with suspect actions," Shetty said. "The list is being compiled and if it is felt that these bowlers require assistance, they will be sent for correcting their action to the National Cricket Academy (in Bangalore)." Though HT has the names of most of the bowlers who have been identified so far, we are withholding the names as the complete list is still being compiled. Surprisingly, many of the bowlers who have been detected so far are representing their respective zonal teams in the ongoing Duleep Trophy. So is the BCCI trying to ignore the problem and let the bowlers scot-free? "No," Shetty said. "The main problem is that they haven't yet been formally reported by the umpires, so we cannot stop them from playing. But after the final assessment of the footage of all the matches, if it is felt that their actions need to corrected, they will have to go through the procedure." The Bangladesh Cricket Board recently identified half a dozen bowlers with a flawed action from their domestic circuit and banned six from further participation in any tournament till they get their action cleared. There could be a lesson here. _____________________ Good to see board being proactive in at least one crucial matter. But who are bowlers in the zonal teams whose action is suspect?

[fineleg]

If Munaf gets back to his original self, we'll have one more test bowler ready.

Daadaji Grandpa Patel should retire and watch kiriket with grandchildren.

[Chandan]

R.P. Singh at NCA Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008 BANGALORE: Left-arm seamer R.P. Singh, nursing a hamstring injury, reported to the National Cricket Academy for fitness assessment tests here on Monday. R.P. Singh suffered the injury during the fourth and final Test against Australia in Adelaide and was subsequently replaced by Munaf Patel for the ongoing Commonwealth Bank tri-series. R.P. Singh had a session at the gym and his fitness levels were monitored by Paul Chapman, strengthening and conditioning coach, and physio Paul Close. ------------ So it looks like RP Singh has recovered. Any news about Zaheer Khan?

[THX_1138]

Different attacks for different formats... thoughts? Judging by the vox populi, Praveen ought to be a regular fixture in the ODIs and possibly even T20 games however he might not be quite as spectacular in Test matches. Thus, what is your opinion of different attacks for the various formats. I reckon it might be well worth the attempt as the likes of Zaheer, RP Singh and Ishant Sharma are susceptible to injuries and thus must be preserved for Test matches (using the gaps in between to starve them of game practice and thus deepening their desire for success), and play Praveen Kumar, Sreesanth (You know you are unique when you are refered to by only one name), Irfan Pathan and Chawla in ODIs. Occassionally switching players to break the monotony of the attack and keeping the players warm and fit. Notice that i recommend that Ishant be played in Tests only. Quite like how Hoggard and Harmison (when he was worth more than the shirt on his back) were played only in Test matches. Moreover, it would create openings for new players such as Gony, Amit Mishra etc etc. p.s. where is ashish bhandari?

[Predator_05]

Who the fu ck is Ashish Bhandari

[satishg]

hmm well ur thot can be put into action wen v have all our bowlers fit and raring to go..its an irony in Indian cricket that always some bowler or the other gets injured in a series or jus before a series and the new guy who gets into the squad performs really well..so yea if all our bowlers are fully fit then v can try rotating everyone around..Ishant is a must in tests and he must be rested adequately frm ODIs..there is a over dosage of cricket being played nowadays and Ishant being young would want to play in ever game..so I hope MSD and AK think this out and give him enuf rest so that he always figures in our test squad..also ZK appears fragile so he shd also play only in important ODI series..well the main point here is v rite now have a very gud bench strength and hence v shd rotate them properly and wisely so that v can get the best out of all players..

[fineleg]

Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan should be picked mainly for Tests. That should be the aim. Dont include them for meaningless ODIs

[amits]

pravin kumar is a must even in tests. he avges more than 5 wickets/match in domestic cricket

[Guest Hiten.]

Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan should be picked mainly for Tests. That should be the aim. Dont include them for meaningless ODIs

Can you stop demeaning a format that has been played 2705 times ? If it does not matter to you, be it that way. We need mainstream bowlers in ODI's too because it matters to the other cricketing nations and it should for us too

[swami1984]

Can you stop demeaning a format that has been played 2705 times ? If it does not matter to you, be it that way. We need mainstream bowlers in ODI's too because it matters to the other cricketing nations and it should for us too

maybe he meant meaningless ODIs like the kitply cup which we're playing right now

[THX_1138]

Can you stop demeaning a format that has been played 2705 times ? If it does not matter to you, be it that way. We need mainstream bowlers in ODI's too because it matters to the other cricketing nations and it should for us too

i dont think it is any bit wise to suggest that ODIs are meaningless. Heck they are the pulse of cricket and pretty much responsible for making this game popular. what does however hold weight is the fact that while we have a battery of bowlers and batsmen ideally suited for ODIs, where we can do without the extra bonus of ishant, we will certainly need him in tests where this very same battery of bowlers and batsmen are not quite as dominating. i.e. we have a plethora of talent to plug the hole created by ishant's absense in odis, but in tests, he is indispensable. thus, it might be prudent to keep him in the ranks for just the tests. once again, ODIs are not meaningless, and let no one suggest anything to the contrary. but ishant is replacable in ODIs, as was evident in the CB series final (second game), whereas in tests, he is of supreme importance to us.

[fineleg]

regarding odis are meaningless or not, dhondy can give u a better answer. However, this kitply or fevicol or whatever series is nothing but meaningless. Tests rule. T20 for fun. ODIs are ok as long as they are not these adhoc Bangladesh, Zim kitply series. But hopefully odis will decline and t20 will take its place. The BEST bowlers need to be preserved for Tests! We need to dominate all countries and win Tests! Bowlers win tests.

[Guest Hiten.]

If you are concerned about the adhoc series like this one, then I completely agree with you. We don't need to participate in these kind of nonsensical series at all. And just because one or two think that ODI's/T20's don't matter then guess what....too bad. All the cricketing nations participate and so do we. World Cups are for ODI's (..T20 WC is in its infancy). Winning WC makes a bigger and stronger point if you are trying to stamp your authority over other cricketing nations (duh!!). Having said that, if India ever becomes World Champions and show any signs of failures in tests it will be totally unacceptable. All the formats should matter. Simple as that.

[fineleg]

Having said that, if India ever becomes World Champions and show any signs of failures in tests it will be totally unacceptable. All the formats should matter. Simple as that.

Ideally, we should do well in all formats. Agreed. In general, I am in agreement with what you have said in your post. However, we are not yet Australia and we need to focus on conquering one format at a time. So we need to prioritize on formats where we should dominate first, and then consolidate the domination in that format, before moving on to conquer other formats.

[flamy]

And obviously, like it ot not, the majority and Dhoni want the first format to be dominated after T20 is ODIs. Doesn't mean we'll slack off when it comes to tests. Actually, this is why I think it is an absolute blessing to have two different captains. Each have their own goals without any clutter.