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The First express fast bowler from INDIA!!

ROBIN DAVID

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2003 02:19:00 PM ]


VADODARA: Move over Shoaib; Bret, beat it! The Bharuch Blaster is here.



Yes, if pace legend Dennis Lillee is to be believed, this unknown lad from a nondescript Gujarat village Ikhar in Bharuch has been sending down 140-150 kmph zingers on a regular basis.



So, this means Munaf Patel has been outdoing the Zaheers, Nehras and Agarkars of the national squad on average. And, believe it or not, the country's fastest speedster hasn't played even a Ranji match yet.



So, if you imagine Patel in the national squad, you would be looking at world's most formidable pace attack. And backed by the world's best batting line-up, the next world series could just be India's.



But even if this lad makes it to Team India, his father probably would not be able to watch him on TV. Patel comes from a conservative Muslim family, which doesn't even own a television at home.



The 22-year-old, 6.4-footer Patel caught Lillee's eyes at Chennai's MRF Pace Academy, where he had come for a stint recently. Lillee has now pitted the Bharuch boy against the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly at the on-going training camp at Bangalore to test his mettle.



"We have identified a handful of promising boys to train with the Indian team and Munaf is one of them," says national selector and Baroda Cricket Association secretary Kiran More.



"Sachin and Sourav can have a look at these youngsters. Besides, Kapil Dev will also spend a few days at the camp which will be good for young lads like Munaf," he adds.



Back in Gujarat's local circuit, Patel's scorching deliveries are legendary, especially as they have singed quite a few.



Playing his debut first-class, U-25 match for Gujarat against Saurashtra his bouncer sent off Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah with a broken finger, while another batsman had his ribs tingled.



The rookie himself ended up with five wickets. With another three wickets in the second innings, he ended up with eight in the match.



Patel was first spotted last year by former Gujarat pacer Dhansukh Patel during an inter-district match between Surat and Bharuch. Though coaching the Surat team, Dhansukh could not help but be impressed by the lanky pacer in the opposition who was making wickets tumble at will.



In two matches, Patel notched up 16 wickets and Dhansukh knew he had spotted a diamond. Later, playing for Gujarat, Patel bagged 18 wickets in three matches, mostly by scaring the wits out of the batsmen with his scorchers.



Taking advantage of his height, Patel would make the ball zip across the batsmen's face, many of whom would lob simple catches while fending off rising deliveries.



"We are expecting him to get even better with a little experience," says Gujarat under-25 coach Rajeev Desai.



Gujarat Cricket Association president Narhari Amin has already delivered his verdict: "I would not be surprised if he makes it to the Indian team soon," he says. "He is easily the fastest bowler we have."



His father, Musa Patel, a small-time cotton farmer, proudly offers a perspective to his son's feats. "They are fascinated by his pace, but you should see him bat," says Musa. "Crowds gather in local tournaments just to see him hit sixers!"



It seems India's quest for the Holy Grail has finally ended at this nondescript village in Gujarat.
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
I won't believe it until I see it...these kind of stories came out year after year in NZ and nobody could justify them until Shane Bond rolled up.
 

Neil Pickup

Cricket Web Moderator
vandemataram said:
So, if you imagine Patel in the national squad, you would be looking at world's most formidable pace attack. And backed by the world's best batting line-up, the next world series could just be India's.
Not only is the grammar poor, but does anyone seriously think that Nehra-Zaheer-Munaf-Salvi is better than Lee-Bichel-McGrath-Gillespie?!

Nehra has to show consistency at the highest level, Salvi needs a few more Tests before we can really rate the guy as International class, though he looks farly good so far, and Zaheer is improving.

And then there's Ajit.

But "might be looking at one of the world's most formidable pace attacks in six years time if all the current side continue to develop and the whole of Australia is afflicted by thalidomide" is more accurate, IMHO.

Forgive me if I think "Lakshmipathy Balaji" rather than "Fidel Edwards"...
 
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Mr Mxyzptlk

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Re: Re: The First express fast bowler from INDIA!!

Neil Pickup said:
Forgive me if I think "Lakshmipathy Balaji" rather than "Fidel Edwards"...
To be fair to Balaji, he really hasn't been given enough of a chance to receive as much criticism as he has.
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
I think alot of people were really reacting to the fact that they'd had information of Balaji's great feats shoved down their throats for a long time and when he finally debuted it was almost the last laugh because he was so average in that match.

However I do agree that a player should be given around 20 or so ODI's before you can judge whether he is capable at international level.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Balaji only bowled 4 overs in that match, so I think some people are a bit too harsh on him. Gayle score 101 off 107 with 10 fours and 3 sixes and Hinds scored 80 off 61 with 10 fours and 5 sixes. The two added 132 runs off just 98 balls, so it wasn't the easiest of situations in which to debut...
 
Re: Re: The First express fast bowler from INDIA!!

Neil Pickup said:
Not only is the grammar poor, but does anyone seriously think that Nehra-Zaheer-Munaf-Salvi is better than Lee-Bichel-McGrath-Gillespie?!

Yeah i agree on that one, that was pretty much plain and stupid, Aussies are obviously miles ahead India in pace department.

However i'm just interested in this new guy, haven't really seen him in action but if Lillee's claim are true, then Indian team will have an express fast bowler in the squad for the first time in history!
 

anzac

International Debutant
his aims should be for control & then staying injury free - just ask Heath Davis & Shane Bond!!!!!!!:D
 

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
Re: Re: Re: The First express fast bowler from INDIA!!

Mr Mxyzptlk said:
To be fair to Balaji, he really hasn't been given enough of a chance to receive as much criticism as he has.
But after the massive build up from our terrace element, his utter and abject failure made him a CW watch-word for poor.

Similar to the way AA is ridiculed on here!
 

Rik

Cricketer Of The Year
Neil Pickup said:
He hasn't. Typo on my part.

Still, just being quick doesn't guarantee effectiveness. Silverwood, Harmison..
Interisting how you were calling for Harmison to return for the Oval Test then ;)
 

Neil Pickup

Cricket Web Moderator
He needed the recall to provide an extra dimension and he is not always effective - never said he was - and never has been in ODIs - the point being that just being quick doesn't automatically make him a good bowler :P
 

Rik

Cricketer Of The Year
Neil Pickup said:
He needed the recall to provide an extra dimension and he is not always effective - never said he was - and never has been in ODIs - the point being that just being quick doesn't automatically make him a good bowler :P
Very true, but dispite his inclusion, England's bowling has been even worse than it was at Headingly. Gibbs is playing a fantastic innings, but he's been given too much leeway by Vaughan who is not just being put in the shade by his younger opponent's brand of no-holds-barred in your face captaincy, but more like being thrown down a bottomless pit.

Sorry to go off topic :)

Pace means nothing, unless you can land the ball in the right place, a bowler, of any pace, is downright useless. When I try out fast bowling I can't even land it, yet when I bowl spin I find it easier to land it on the same spot again and again. Spin is my strongest suit, despite the fact that I can really let one go sometimes, since I can't even land it most of the time it's useless.
 

Langeveldt

Soutie
I agree, I will believe this when I see it, and I dont consider India to be capable of producing a pace bowler to rival those from Aus/SA...
 

gibbsnsmith

State Vice-Captain
too true

i still think west indies should produce more quicks than the rest as they are suited to it rather than most...


go go curtly ambrose
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
Why do you say that Jacques?

India have the biggest population out of any test playing nation (except maybe Bangladesh) so I see no reason why India can't find a player who can bowl good pace.

Of course, its having the resources to find them and I don't think the Indian Cricket structure has helped either.
 

gibbsnsmith

State Vice-Captain
when i played in a coiuple of invitational matches in india on my holioday it really shown me a close up experience of the dustbvowls wherer pace bowlers really do suffer , so more and more converted their actions, lkines etc..into one which suits and acuurate medium pacer instead of raw pace..of course it seems there maybe a turnaround as in the last few years there are more and more med fast/ fast med s developing

ive seen khan and nehjra reach speeeds of 145kph especially nehgra who in the world cup was regularly bowling at around 89mph so they arent exactly that much off shoaib and lee
 

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
I'm unsure about the accuracy of some of these speed guns, and the one's at the World Cup were rumoured to not be 100% accurate.

If they were bowling that quickly there, how come they haven't been bowling that quickly either before or since?
 

Neil Pickup

Cricket Web Moderator
GibbsnSmith... Please do something about that signature!!!

It's about three times as long as it ought to be, and Andrew Flintoff has made a double ton in 20 overs of U15 cricket before anyway.

Agree, the speed guns at the WC seemed to round things up a touch :)
 

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