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What makes Stuart Clark so good ATM?

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
I thought only the MCG had any usable bounce. The WACA, Adelaide and to a slightly lesser extent Sydney were very, very flat.
They certainly weren't bouncy by their normal standards, but they were bouncier than what you'd find in the subcontinent or indeed anywhere else in the world. They offered little seam movement and they were slow, but if you dug it in, you got lift.
 

Jakester1288

International Regular
His bounce and line and length. People can score a lot of runs of him if they can get on top of him, which most people can't. He puts you in defencive mode when you face him.
 

DaRick

State Vice-Captain
And he did struggle aganist Ind and SL in Aus

21 Wickets from 6 matches @ Avg of 31 and SR of 64
That's pretty misleading - admittedly, he was smashed around during the Sri Lankan second innings in Hobart (on a road), but his average against India was in the low 20's until Adelaide, where he could not pick up any wickets (another road). As such, his series average against India went from 20-odd to 28.

Based on statistics alone, Ishant Sharma also struggled during the Test matches (and unlike Clark, his average actually does look terrible) - remember that.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Ishant Sharma did struggle, though - he had odd moments where he showed flashes of brilliance, and looked pretty poor for much of the rest of the time.

Likewise, Clark had his good and poor times. In pretty much every game bar the one at The MCG, though, he was played better than he ever had been before.
 

Laurrz

International Debutant
What makes the great man so good?

1) ability to put batsmen under pressure - IMO the #1 bowler in the world in keeping the batsmen under pressure....especially in the 2nd innings he can considerably tie you down.. we've seen this countless times... 3 i can think of off top of head is Adelaide v Eng, Sydney v Ind...and then the one recently

2) wobble deliveries - he has this weird ability to wobble the ball just enough... its either a bit of swing or a bit of seam.. it's extremely canny..both ways too..
this is on pitches/conditions that dont really help and aren't that conducive to swing/seam... IMO watch him in England or South Africa and he'll just completely carve up

3) bounce
the guys tall..quick enough definitely too..

but mainly 1) and 2) makes him stand out imo

oh and his eye twitch is the ***
 
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Laurrz

International Debutant
One thing he's benefited from in Australia that he won't to same extent in other countries is bounce. The pitches in Australia have slowed down a bit, but there is still significantly more bounce - even if at times slow bounce - on Australian wickets than on pitches elsewhere else in the world. Given his height and the length he bowls, this is obviously a big factor for him.

Before this summer, I was quite sure he'd struggle on the subcontinent, especially with McGrath and Warne out of the equation. Despite the fact that he "struggled" (honestly, you know you're going well when you struggle to a series average of 31 with the ball on flat pitches against an awesome batting lineup), I've changed my mind on that a bit - he has more tricks up his sleeve than I originally thought. I'm still not completely confident he'll succeed in India but it really wouldn't shock me if he did.
Yea i dont think subcont will be a big factor imo.. he does have a lot of tricks as you say, different cutters and he is actually a good exponent of reverse swing...

one thing he sucks at is bowling at the tail though..does all the tough work against the gun top order then gets smacked by tail coz he bowls too much short/full stuff instead of bowling normally
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
If Clark could clean-up tailenders (and regularly got the chance to) and continued to bowl at top-orders as he has so far in his career, he'd get better career figures than even the greatest, Malcolm Marshall.
 

Laurrz

International Debutant
hate to jinx him but tours to RSA and England will be terrific for him...well it should be...rarely gets to bowl in those types of conditions
India a massive challenge of course
 

Lambu

U19 Debutant
This from a poster in another cricket forum..interesting views he has on Clark

I'm sorry, but for the life of me, I can't quite understand how this trundler takes wickets. It must be because the batsmen are laughing their socks off before he gets to the crease with his girly run up.

Even with Mcgrath, there was serious accuracy and bounce, clark is miles behind mcgrath even in those departments.
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
TBF McGrath had/has something of a mincing run-up too; maybe batsmen stiffling guffaws helped Pidge out on those rare occasions when he couldn't find the edge.
 

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