Should Shoaib Shorten His Run Up?

[PAKMAN]

shoaib akhtar has refused to shorten his run up as people like imran khan and bob woolmer have asked him to do so.

what do u guys think
i think if he feels better bowling with a long run up then he should

 

[Scaly piscine]

I think it's a pretty dumb idea to try and change the run up of the only Pakistan player that's consistently performing well. They should concentrate their efforts on the other guys.

 

[Jono]

If he turned around and did say he would shorten his run-up, I'd be a happy cricket fan because I'd like to see Shoiab bowling longer spells than 5 overs. However, no one should force him too since he's already a brilliant bowler. If he feels perfectly comfortable bowling with his 40 yard or whatever run-up, then so be it.

 

[benchmark00]

hmm fair enough but i deffinately think he should shorten his run up, to: a) furthur his career
b) allow him to bowl more effective spells.

I honestly dont think him shortening his run up will take away from the great bowler he is, sure he MAY drop a couple of km's at worse, but i have many-a great fast bowler do it effectively and obtain the best statistics of their career, one that comes to mind is allan donald, the great fast man from SA.. Flemming was another from Australia... you only need a certain amount of momentum to carry you through the crease, and i deffinately thing his run up is far too long for the size that he is, he is a very big unit, strong strong man, and his body cant support such a long run up.. and its got to the point where he is letting his team down by not being able to run in all day long

 

[Scaly piscine]

Akhtar is 29 years old, it's just not worth trying to change his run up. The potential gain is minimal and the potential loss is huge.

 

[benchmark00]

Akhtar is 29 years old, it's just not worth trying to change his run up. The potential gain is minimal and the potential loss is huge.

lol wouldnt it be more likely that if he continues his big run up thered be more chances of getting an injury? this is just my opinion BTW... i think that an extra 3 years of cricket thatd he get if he shortens his run up is worth 4 or 5 less wickets.. IMO

 

[PAKMAN]

http://rsa.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2004/DEC/135856_PAK_21DEC2004.html

 

[Scaly piscine]

lol wouldnt it be more likely that if he continues his big run up thered be more chances of getting an injury? this is just my opinion BTW... i think that an extra 3 years of cricket thatd he get if he shortens his run up is worth 4 or 5 less wickets.. IMO

There's virtually no extra risk attached to running a bit further (in the end it means he runs further and bowls less which is better really, 5 overs with 40 yards run-up or 6 overs with 30 yard run-up), if he changes the run up and inevitably the new run up doesn't have the same rhythm and results in his action being a little less smooth then there is increased risk of injury.

 

[PAKMAN]

i like thiscomment of shoaib

"I'll ask you a question. Can a plane take off without a run-up? No, so I've got to take the run," he said. "It's how I generate my pace and everything flows into the right action. I'm not going to cut down."

 

[benchmark00]

There's virtually no extra risk attached to running a bit further (in the end it means he runs further and bowls less which is better really, 5 overs with 40 yards run-up or 6 overs with 30 yard run-up), if he changes the run up and inevitably the new run up doesn't have the same rhythm and results in his action being a little less smooth then there is increased risk of injury.

lol yeah but what would you rather see.... him bowling double the overs with the same energy burnt, or half the overs?? he is easily Pakistans best bowler, they need him if they are going to win,lol

 

[Richard]

People have tried to change their actions\run-ups before and it's resulted in catastrophe.
Much as it might help, it could be disastrous and it's not worth the risk.

 

[Josh]

Well, If I had to shorten my 14-step runup, surely Shoaib can shorten his 478,000,000 step runup.

 

[Buddhmaster]

There's really no reason for any of us here to be wanting him to shorten his run up. Fair enough Inzy and people involved with Pakistani cricket, because they want him to be bowling more for them, but what does it mean to us. As someone said, he's already 29, and will only get slower, so he will need the extra run up to give him some more pace.

 

[Jono]

i like thiscomment of shoaib

"I'll ask you a question. Can a plane take off without a run-up? No, so I've got to take the run," he said. "It's how I generate my pace and everything flows into the right action. I'm not going to cut down."

I always new Shoaib liked planes when he started that taunt of his when he took a wicket, but he's taking it too far now.

 

[Gangster]

I think it's a pretty dumb idea to try and change the run up of the only Pakistan player that's consistently performing well. They should concentrate their efforts on the other guys.

I agree 100%. I'm an Indian supporter but I'm a huge Shoaib Akhtar fan. I watched the Australia-Pakistan test match and honestly the only moments I cared about were when Shoaib was bowling. When he cut his run up and consequently his pace at the end of Day 1 because Inzamam was giving him nothing fields, I was infuriated. Shoaib is far and away the best bowler Pakistan has. (Sami and Kaneria seem to have potential, but let's be honest: Sami's a one-day bowler and Kaneria really hasn't done anything.) I think Bob Woolmer should focus his efforts on the batsmen or other bowlers and just let Shoaib do his thing.

I also agree that as long as Shoaib took to bowl his overs, it took equally as long for characters like Langer to face up. It was an utter disgrace, and Umpire Bowden didn't say a gosh darn thing. (I'm singling out Bowden because it happened to usually take place at his end and Shoaib always seemed to bowl at his end too.) In the next test at Melbourne, Shoaib should keep running in from the boundary and knock Langer's head back towards Sydney if he pulls his shenanigans again!

 

[marc71178]

If he feels perfectly comfortable bowling with his 40 yard or whatever run-up, then so be it.

But how effective is a bowler who can only bowl such short spells when his team is short of a top class bowler or 2?

 

[marc71178]

i like thiscomment of shoaib

"I'll ask you a question. Can a plane take off without a run-up? No, so I've got to take the run," he said. "It's how I generate my pace and everything flows into the right action. I'm not going to cut down."

I fail to see how it takes 40 yards to generate the pace.

 

[Mister Wright]

I fail to see how it takes 40 yards to generate the pace.

He's always said that the extra run up doesn't generate any more pace for him. He says he gets better rythum from the longer run up, so that can only be better for his bowling IMO, until you have seen him bowl live, you cannot appreciate the wonder of his bowling - personally, I love it (the longer run up).

 

[PAKMAN]

He's always said that the extra run up doesn't generate any more pace for him. He says he gets better rythum from the longer run up, so that can only be better for his bowling IMO, until you have seen him bowl live, you cannot appreciate the wonder of his bowling - personally, I love it (the longer run up).

who doesnt like it its so much fun when watching him live and all through his run up the pakistani supporters are right behind him
its just great

 

[age_master]

if he caqn bowl as fast, as accurate and with the same rythm of a shorter run, yeah he should, but i doubt he will be able to so he should stick to the long one