(Image courtesy: New Indian Express)L Suresh visits the ICC (Injured and Convalescing Council) where the world’s fast bowlers are licking their wounds.
Not very long ago, cricket was all about fast bowlers terrorizing hapless batsmen who came out to bat with thick towels wrapped around their midriff. Test matches were a test of surviving pace as Holding, Roberts, Garner and Marshall assessed the batsmen’s reflexes with every ball. Lightning quick bowling was about Lillee and Thomson leaving behind a trail of cracked helmets, bloodied noses, scarred cheeks and broken spirits. Seam and swing was all about Kapil, Botham, Imran and Hadlee vying with one another, making up for lack of pace with genius. And without any warning, the radar screen went blank.
Overnight, years of experience have given way to a wet-behind-the-ears breed that is desperately trying to make its presence felt – when it is not out with injury. Selectors no longer have to bear the tag of being usherers at the revolving doors of team selection. Damaged tendons and torn ligaments are ensuring that the new entrants drop out as fast as they burst into the international scene. The other key issue has been the rapid rise and fall of fast bowlers which leads to fresh faces putting their hands up for selection at the beginning of each new series.
Take the recently concluded India vs West Indies series. Before the series began, none of the fast bowlers from either side had played 30 tests or taken 100 wickets. India’s pace attack, comprising Munaf Patel and Sreesanth, had a total of four tests and 19 wickets between them. With Pathan out of form, Zaheer Khan out of favour, Balaji and Aashish Nehra still convalescing from their injuries, Team India called upon youngsters like RP Singh and VRV Singh to stage the thunder and lightning show, until Kumble and Harbhajan brought the twister on.
The West Indies were only slightly better, with Ian Bradshaw and Jerome Taylor having played 7 tests and having taken 11 wickets between them before their series against India. It is truly an irony that in the land of the quicks, it was the slower one that decided the fate of the one day series as Dwayne Bravo castled Yuvraj in the dying minutes of the second one-dayer. Fidel Edwards, Jermaine Lawson, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Bradshaw, Taylor and Bravo found themselves repeatedly running into the wall – an accident that resulted in Dravid scoring 496 runs in four tests. And of course, Ambrose, Walsh and Bishop’s looming presence in various grounds did nothing to help the pitches become a fast bowler’s delight - in the end, it was spin that decided the fate of the test series.
But if there’s a team that must be spending sleepless nights thinking about facing Muralitharan in his backyard and their own lack of quality fast bowlers, it’s South Africa. With Pollock breaking down after all these years, Nel systematically producing every injury displayed in an orthopedist’s chart and Ntini and Kallis availing of their sick leave, the Proteas opened the floodgates for fast bowlers. In a matter of months, Dale Steyn, Johan van der Wath, Charl Langeveldt, Monde Zondeki and Garnett Kruger played round robin amongst themselves as they found poor performances and injuries forcing them to make way for the next in line.
Meanwhile England are taking on Pakistan, with their eyes nervously hovering around the bottom of the calendar when they will be taking a flight to the land of socceroos, kangaroos and Ashes blues. Ashes 2005 today seems like a fantasy tale from the distant past. The world’s most powerful pace battery of Simon Jones, Harmison, Hoggard and Flintoff today resembles a spent button cell with the likes Liam Plunkett, Kabir Ali, Bresnan and Sajid Mehmood being rushed to have their heads examined for a quick fitting of ECB caps. Glen Chapple must have the shortest international record for an English player – an abdominal muscle strain put him out of the squad after just one one-dayer
In another continent, Australia are keenly watching the English sick bay, cheering every wheel chair and ambulance lustily. While the baggy green is still going strong, the world champions aren’t without their set of problems. With McGrath tending to his personal setbacks, and with Gillespie and Kasprowicz still trying to cement their places in the side, a long line of fast bowlers came out in a rush, hoping to fit into some really large-sized shoes - Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, James Hopes, Brett Dorey and of course, Mick Lewis, who entered the record books in only his 7th one day international, giving away 113 runs in 10 overs, even as Herschelle Gibbs made a mockery of a total of 434 set by the Aussies in 50 overs. Of the lot, only Stuart Clark did not give the selectors any reason to draw the curtains and hide under the bed, as he drew first blood by winning the first test against South Africa.
Though recent results show that Sri Lanka have no cause for concern, their fast bowlers are becoming a fast-changing breed. The need for speed does not appear in the list of priorities on Tom Moody’s list, but the likes of Ruchira Perera, Lasith Malinga, Farveez Maharoof and Nuwan Kulasekara have been drafted in to partner Vaas while old-timers like Dilhara Fernando and Zoysa are battling serious accusations against them, ranging from problems with no-balls to issues of low commitment.
And of course, while it’s an irony that a nation that was accused of using bottle caps to tamper with the ball is today having problems finding good openers, the real problem is that the fast bowlers aren’t just there. Four seasons ago, Pakistan was spearheaded by two quicks – Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis - who, between them, had 191 tests, 618 one-dayers and 1705 wickets. Compare this with the current opening pair operating in England – Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul - 32 tests, 95 one dayers and 223 wickets.
Shoaib Akthar competes with Brett Lee for speed, with McGrath in issuing statements before a match and with Shane Bond in running up hospital bills. Just for the records, his current problem relates to a stress fracture of the ankle. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has recently suffered a groin injury while Mohammad Asif, a good find for Pakistan, has acquired the famed tennis elbow. Shabbir Ahmed's off serving a one year ban for a suspect bowling action, while Rao Iftikhar Anjum’s short career has basically been a wait and watch game – years of waiting in the sidelines, watching other quicks getting to play a game. So that has brought back Umar Gul and Mohammad Sami, the former back after a back injury and the latter, whose most prominent entry in the record books is a 17-ball over with seven wides and four no-balls, simply an afterthought.
But if there’s a team to whom the term ‘men in white coats’ has come to represent doctors more than umpires, it has to be New Zealand. Despite playing fewer matches than most other countries, New Zealand races ahead when it comes to taking a head count of injuries. And one fast bowler in particular shares more than just a surname with his fictitious counterpart, James Bond. It took 40 years for 007 to make 20 appearances - which makes it an outing every two years. And Shane is just a tad better, with 14 test appearances in five years - compare that with a relative newcomer like Irfan Pathan who has played 25 tests in three years and would have played more, but for injury and a recent lack of form. Every bone, every joint and every sinew has taken turns in ensuring that this Kiwi never took flight. One can picture Shane Bond charging out of a hospital and terrorising a team into submission, only to be led back in a wheel chair after the match.
His less illustrious mates have not lagged behind when it came to checking into hospital beds instead of hotel rooms whenever a series began. Jacob Oram has been being sidelined for 18 months with a back injury, Kyle Mills is undergoing corrective surgery for an ankle injury and Andre Adams was recently spotted nursing a broken bone in his right hand. And while Ian Butler has been out of sight and out of mind since 2004, Daryl Tuffey has been out of action since June 2005, ever since he injured his shoulder. Chris Martin has been in and out of the team so often that he could name his autobiography ‘Cold Play’, based on the group his namesake sings for. James Franklin and Michael Mason seem to be following the same path and in New Zealand, it has been established beyond doubts that all roads lead to a neighbourhood hospital.
It is sad that in the current scenario, any reference to infusion of fresh blood in cricket alludes more to a medical situation than to youngsters arriving at the scene. Hopefully things will change come November when two of the world’s best bowling attacks clash with one another for the Ashes. Until then, let’s just hope that the vanishing breed doesn’t become totally extinct.
Not very long ago, cricket was all about fast bowlers terrorizing hapless batsmen who came out to bat with thick towels wrapped around their midriff. Test matches were a test of surviving pace as Holding, Roberts, Garner and Marshall assessed the batsmen’s reflexes with every ball. Lightning quick bowling was about Lillee and Thomson leaving behind a trail of cracked helmets, bloodied noses, scarred cheeks and broken spirits. Seam and swing was all about Kapil, Botham, Imran and Hadlee vying with one another, making up for lack of pace with genius. And without any warning, the radar screen went blank.
Overnight, years of experience have given way to a wet-behind-the-ears breed that is desperately trying to make its presence felt – when it is not out with injury. Selectors no longer have to bear the tag of being usherers at the revolving doors of team selection. Damaged tendons and torn ligaments are ensuring that the new entrants drop out as fast as they burst into the international scene. The other key issue has been the rapid rise and fall of fast bowlers which leads to fresh faces putting their hands up for selection at the beginning of each new series.
Take the recently concluded India vs West Indies series. Before the series began, none of the fast bowlers from either side had played 30 tests or taken 100 wickets. India’s pace attack, comprising Munaf Patel and Sreesanth, had a total of four tests and 19 wickets between them. With Pathan out of form, Zaheer Khan out of favour, Balaji and Aashish Nehra still convalescing from their injuries, Team India called upon youngsters like RP Singh and VRV Singh to stage the thunder and lightning show, until Kumble and Harbhajan brought the twister on.
The West Indies were only slightly better, with Ian Bradshaw and Jerome Taylor having played 7 tests and having taken 11 wickets between them before their series against India. It is truly an irony that in the land of the quicks, it was the slower one that decided the fate of the one day series as Dwayne Bravo castled Yuvraj in the dying minutes of the second one-dayer. Fidel Edwards, Jermaine Lawson, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Bradshaw, Taylor and Bravo found themselves repeatedly running into the wall – an accident that resulted in Dravid scoring 496 runs in four tests. And of course, Ambrose, Walsh and Bishop’s looming presence in various grounds did nothing to help the pitches become a fast bowler’s delight - in the end, it was spin that decided the fate of the test series.
But if there’s a team that must be spending sleepless nights thinking about facing Muralitharan in his backyard and their own lack of quality fast bowlers, it’s South Africa. With Pollock breaking down after all these years, Nel systematically producing every injury displayed in an orthopedist’s chart and Ntini and Kallis availing of their sick leave, the Proteas opened the floodgates for fast bowlers. In a matter of months, Dale Steyn, Johan van der Wath, Charl Langeveldt, Monde Zondeki and Garnett Kruger played round robin amongst themselves as they found poor performances and injuries forcing them to make way for the next in line.
Meanwhile England are taking on Pakistan, with their eyes nervously hovering around the bottom of the calendar when they will be taking a flight to the land of socceroos, kangaroos and Ashes blues. Ashes 2005 today seems like a fantasy tale from the distant past. The world’s most powerful pace battery of Simon Jones, Harmison, Hoggard and Flintoff today resembles a spent button cell with the likes Liam Plunkett, Kabir Ali, Bresnan and Sajid Mehmood being rushed to have their heads examined for a quick fitting of ECB caps. Glen Chapple must have the shortest international record for an English player – an abdominal muscle strain put him out of the squad after just one one-dayer
In another continent, Australia are keenly watching the English sick bay, cheering every wheel chair and ambulance lustily. While the baggy green is still going strong, the world champions aren’t without their set of problems. With McGrath tending to his personal setbacks, and with Gillespie and Kasprowicz still trying to cement their places in the side, a long line of fast bowlers came out in a rush, hoping to fit into some really large-sized shoes - Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, James Hopes, Brett Dorey and of course, Mick Lewis, who entered the record books in only his 7th one day international, giving away 113 runs in 10 overs, even as Herschelle Gibbs made a mockery of a total of 434 set by the Aussies in 50 overs. Of the lot, only Stuart Clark did not give the selectors any reason to draw the curtains and hide under the bed, as he drew first blood by winning the first test against South Africa.
Though recent results show that Sri Lanka have no cause for concern, their fast bowlers are becoming a fast-changing breed. The need for speed does not appear in the list of priorities on Tom Moody’s list, but the likes of Ruchira Perera, Lasith Malinga, Farveez Maharoof and Nuwan Kulasekara have been drafted in to partner Vaas while old-timers like Dilhara Fernando and Zoysa are battling serious accusations against them, ranging from problems with no-balls to issues of low commitment.
And of course, while it’s an irony that a nation that was accused of using bottle caps to tamper with the ball is today having problems finding good openers, the real problem is that the fast bowlers aren’t just there. Four seasons ago, Pakistan was spearheaded by two quicks – Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis - who, between them, had 191 tests, 618 one-dayers and 1705 wickets. Compare this with the current opening pair operating in England – Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul - 32 tests, 95 one dayers and 223 wickets.
Shoaib Akthar competes with Brett Lee for speed, with McGrath in issuing statements before a match and with Shane Bond in running up hospital bills. Just for the records, his current problem relates to a stress fracture of the ankle. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has recently suffered a groin injury while Mohammad Asif, a good find for Pakistan, has acquired the famed tennis elbow. Shabbir Ahmed's off serving a one year ban for a suspect bowling action, while Rao Iftikhar Anjum’s short career has basically been a wait and watch game – years of waiting in the sidelines, watching other quicks getting to play a game. So that has brought back Umar Gul and Mohammad Sami, the former back after a back injury and the latter, whose most prominent entry in the record books is a 17-ball over with seven wides and four no-balls, simply an afterthought.
But if there’s a team to whom the term ‘men in white coats’ has come to represent doctors more than umpires, it has to be New Zealand. Despite playing fewer matches than most other countries, New Zealand races ahead when it comes to taking a head count of injuries. And one fast bowler in particular shares more than just a surname with his fictitious counterpart, James Bond. It took 40 years for 007 to make 20 appearances - which makes it an outing every two years. And Shane is just a tad better, with 14 test appearances in five years - compare that with a relative newcomer like Irfan Pathan who has played 25 tests in three years and would have played more, but for injury and a recent lack of form. Every bone, every joint and every sinew has taken turns in ensuring that this Kiwi never took flight. One can picture Shane Bond charging out of a hospital and terrorising a team into submission, only to be led back in a wheel chair after the match.
His less illustrious mates have not lagged behind when it came to checking into hospital beds instead of hotel rooms whenever a series began. Jacob Oram has been being sidelined for 18 months with a back injury, Kyle Mills is undergoing corrective surgery for an ankle injury and Andre Adams was recently spotted nursing a broken bone in his right hand. And while Ian Butler has been out of sight and out of mind since 2004, Daryl Tuffey has been out of action since June 2005, ever since he injured his shoulder. Chris Martin has been in and out of the team so often that he could name his autobiography ‘Cold Play’, based on the group his namesake sings for. James Franklin and Michael Mason seem to be following the same path and in New Zealand, it has been established beyond doubts that all roads lead to a neighbourhood hospital.
It is sad that in the current scenario, any reference to infusion of fresh blood in cricket alludes more to a medical situation than to youngsters arriving at the scene. Hopefully things will change come November when two of the world’s best bowling attacks clash with one another for the Ashes. Until then, let’s just hope that the vanishing breed doesn’t become totally extinct.
(Appeared in the New Indian Express Sunday Supplement on 23 July, 2006)
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