He hardly ever got too many overs. Besides, he didn't bowl well enough to keep that average well above 66.[/QOUTE]
In Pakistan he bowled more overs than even Kumble, and yet he kept his average to 28. I don't think Pathan will ever be express. He can even now bowl quicker, i've seen him touch 145 kph...but I don't think he will or needs to....because he will only try to swing the ball more. He might gradually get his average pace upto 140 kph, but no more.
Arjun said:
They got caned in the World Cup final, in the Test series against NZ, in the TVS Cup, all over Australia and even in Pakistan. They conceded 4 consecutive 300+ totals. If even 1 bowler could bowl in the 150's, they could have got caned a lot less.
The WC Final was a disaster because they tried too hard. They gave away 37 extras and totally lost it in the final overs against Ponting's onslaught. Where did they get caned in the Test series against NZ?! And the wickets in NZ were in fact aiding the bowlers. All over Australia the Aussie bowlers got 'caned' even more. Same with Pakistan. 150+kph pace when not directed well, just needs a touch from the bat to blast it to the fence (eg.India-Pak WC match).
Arjun said:
Compare any batting side of international quality with this bits and pieces batting side and you'll know what I am talking about. There are countless matches on flat pitches where raw pace does get wickets. These examples of the struggles of 1% fit Lee, Shoaib and Sami are exceptions.
But even more where raw pace gets 'caned'(aargh). And just rule out Brett Lee's Sydney and Melbourne, Shoaib and Sami's three tests, Tino Best against Bangladesh etc. as exceptions
.
Arjun said:
Just two of them. Kumble can't bat for toffees now, but he can hang on as he did in the past. Nehra should improve his batting basics. Zaheer is a hitter of sorts, not much of a batsman, but he should practice that.
There's something more sensible from you. Yes they should be able to hang around in the crease. Nehra should improve his basic batting and Zaheer can practice more, because he has some ability. But with a batting line-up like ours they don't need to.
Arjun said:
Why necessarily a wicketkeeper? Why not a bowler? New Zealand has Chris Cairns and Jacob Oram, England has Flintoff, Pakistan has Razzaq, South Africa have Klusener and Pollock, so why can't India have bowlers who can bat?
Becaues keeping Dravid as keeper at the moment is giving away too many runs and chances. We are doing fine without an all-rounder now, but if some exceptional talent comes through, good for us. I don't want that allrounder craze started again or we may see Reetinder Singh Sodhi and AA at no.3 come back.
Arjun said:
Then why have 7 batsmen?
Nothing more. Just practice. We shouldn't lose it. He can bat as well as most top 6 batsmen. He can't bowl fast, but he can bat, so it solves one problem.
His batting ability has nothing to do with any shortcoming he may have bowling( not that his lack of express speed is a shortcoming).
Arjun said:
They lack pace as well as the skills to get wickets on unhelpful surfaces. In fact, almost every Indian medium-pacer has struggled on flat pitches. None of them have ever got 4/5 quick wickets. The only bowlers who could do so (and still can) are Kumble and Harbhajan.
You pointed out NZ. Zaheer picked up 4-wicket hauls regularly there. You pointed out the WC. Our bowlers were among the top wicket takers. You pointed out Australia. Our bowlers took more wickets than the Australians. Your logic makes no sense. They can try as hard as they can to bowl fast, but none of these guys will ever be express. Zaheer Khan was the quickest and in 2002 was clocking over 150 kph. But now his injuries have robbed him of some pace. Express bowlers are rare talents even for Australia. Alan Donald had said we have a lot of potential talent, but we need to produce better pitches. But now there's a lot of quicks coming through and it's just a matter of time before some tearaway is found.
Arjun said:
That said, I would like to know why all Indian 'fast' bowlers in domestic matches bowl so slowly? The fastest bowl at later 130's, while everyone else bowls in the 120's. Perhaps because the coaches emphasize more on seam and swing than pace. In Australia, they tell young fast bowlers to bowl fast, which is how they may produce so many tearaway fast bowlers. No doubt pace is not everything, but it may be the last thing to fall back on, along with accuracy. Some Shoaib Akhtar spells in Sharjah and Pakistan, as well as Brett Lee's performances in South Africa and also Shane Bond's match-winning 5-wicket hauls have made pace a very potent weapon in a bowling attack. The people in charge back in India need to do a serious rethink of their plans with pace bowlers- all the way down to school level.
Quite simply because they can't, they are only military medium. It's really amazing how many genuine quicks Pakistan produces and it's the envy of every other nation. But we too produce so many quality batsmen, and our batting order is indeed the envy of the world. So all we can do is wait. We produced one in Srinath, and someone will come through.