Sehwag weak against shortball : johnson

[shankar]

Now, I only saw it a couple of times a few days ago, but when you look at Sehwag's dismissal in the first innings, he plays it like a short ball. Yeah, it doesn't get up, but he's jumping to play it, which means that he isn't as perfectly still as what he is when the ball is outside off stump. As soon as his eyes start moving, he's going to be more vulnerable.

That's the reason for bowling short and keeping him up tight, because he jumps to play the ball - trying to work it square leg or finer for a single - rather than stepping inside it, as he prefers to stay leg-side of the ball so that he can slay it through the off-side. He won't be as balanced playing the shot and he can't really generate any power.

Excellent post man...Great insight.

 

[aussie]

Leading edge..bad shot.. And he did manage to get 60 runs..so not really a failure either.


Look if it was so easy, that you bowl short and Sehwag is a walking wicket...dont you think other bowlers would have exploited it by now? He has two triple centuries, one against Steyn and one against Akhtar.
I saw that knock against Akhtar and he managed to cut Akhtar and Sami (both bowling over 90 mph) over third man for sixes.

Other bowlers have tried before & he looked very much like a walking wicket againts quality short pitches bowling especially on bouncy decks. So its not as if Johnson thought of this plan out of thing air, their would have been video evidence of it. On flat pitches it would be hard to bounce him out & before the test i didn't think Johnson's plan would work - although it was the correct idea to try & test him in that area. But Johnson & the AUS bowlers quicks put in extra effort, found life in the Mohalo pitch & it worked well.

Sehwag is weak againts at the body short pitched bowling. Bowling short & wide outside off-stump is his strenght.

Now, I only saw it a couple of times a few days ago, but when you look at Sehwag's dismissal in the first innings, he plays it like a short ball. Yeah, it doesn't get up, but he's jumping to play it, which means that he isn't as perfectly still as what he is when the ball is outside off stump. As soon as his eyes start moving, he's going to be more vulnerable.

That's the reason for bowling short and keeping him up tight, because he jumps to play the ball - trying to work it square leg or finer for a single - rather than stepping inside it, as he prefers to stay leg-side of the ball so that he can slay it through the off-side. He won't be as balanced playing the shot and he can't really generate any power.

200% on point.

 

[Cevno]

Other bowlers have tried before & he looked very much like a walking wicket againts quality short pitches bowling especially on bouncy decks. So its not as if Johnson thought of this plan out of thing air, their would have been video evidence of it. On flat pitches it would be hard to bounce him out & before the test i didn't think Johnson's plan would work - although it was the correct idea to try & test him in that area. But Johnson & the AUS bowlers quicks put in extra effort, found life in the Mohalo pitch & it worked well.

Sehwag is weak againts at the body short pitched bowling. Bowling short & wide outside off-stump is his strenght.



200% on point.

Really ?
He has a terrific record in Australian wickets which are bouncy.

I think we are over analysing Sehwag's dismissal based on Johnson's comments.

For me he Looked more comfortable against the Short ball in this Match than Ponting and Clarke. And Ponting is considered a very good player of the short ball.
And to be fair to him,he had the likes of Bollinger and Johnson doing it to him at a quicker pace than Sharma.

 

[aussie]

Really ?
He has a terrific record in Australian wickets which are bouncy.

I think we are over analysing Sehwag's dismissal based on Johnson's comments.

For me he Looked more comfortable against the Short ball in this Match than Ponting and Clarke. And Ponting is considered a very good player of the short ball.
And to be fair to him,he had the likes of Bollinger and Johnson doing it to him at a quicker pace than Sharma.

Sehwag has never batted on a bouncy AUS pitch in none of the 6 tets he played in AUS. All where flat pitches.

When Sehwag averaged 14 in SA 06/07, Karachi 06 vs Akhtar/Asif, vs ENG 05/06, a few tests vs AUS in 04/05 in IND, vs SA in IND 08 in series i have seen. He certainly looked vulnerable againts the at the body short pitched bowling along with inswingers.

I dont know how you can say he looked more confortable againts the short ball than Ponting.

Clarke looked bad againts the short ball in this test yes, but Clarke career wise has always played the short-ball well compared to Sehwag.

 

[vcs]

Sehwag has never batted on a bouncy AUS pitch in none of the 6 tets he played in AUS. All where flat pitches.

When Sehwag averaged 14 in SA 06/07, Karachi 06 vs Akhtar/Asif, vs ENG 05/06, a few tests vs AUS in 04/05 in IND, vs SA in IND 08 in series i have seen. He certainly looked vulnerable againts the at the body short pitched bowling along with inswingers.

I dont know how you can say he looked more confortable againts the short ball than Ponting.

Clarke looked bad againts the short ball in this test yes, but Clarke career wise has always played the short-ball well compared to Sehwag.

I'd say the MCG is pretty bouncy by current world standards.

And his failures in India vs England in '06, Australia in India (except Nagpur), SA in India etc. probably had less to do with bounce and more to do with moving his feet, considering we're talking of Indian pitches here.

 

[vic_orthdox]

I'd say the MCG is pretty bouncy by current world standards.

Hmm, maybe. The drop in wickets don't tend to have great carry in them, they're a bit spongy and rather slow, very much so by Australian standards.

 

[vcs]

Hmm, maybe. The drop in wickets don't tend to have great carry in them, they're a bit spongy and rather slow, very much so by Australian standards.

In 2003, I thought it offered a decent bit of help to the bowlers, Lee in particular bowled a lot of short-pitched stuff to him and Sehwag in that innings took him for plenty of runs behind square on the offside.

 

[Migara]

I'd say Sehwag is weak against short ball, but the challenge is to bowl that short ball at 140k+ directed at the body all the time. I don't think there is an bowler in the owrld who could consistently do it. And if you err in the line, with that length you'd be disappearing soon. McGrath could have done that, so was Wasim, but I fail to see any other bowler of recent past doing it consistently.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Sehwag has never batted on a bouncy AUS pitch in none of the 6 tets he played in AUS. All where flat pitches.

When Sehwag averaged 14 in SA 06/07, Karachi 06 vs Akhtar/Asif, vs ENG 05/06, a few tests vs AUS in 04/05 in IND, vs SA in IND 08 in series i have seen. He certainly looked vulnerable againts the at the body short pitched bowling along with inswingers.

I dont know how you can say he looked more confortable againts the short ball than Ponting.

Clarke looked bad againts the short ball in this test yes, but Clarke career wise has always played the short-ball well compared to Sehwag.

You are missing a couple of points. Just because he averaged 14 somewhere does not necessarily mean he got out due to his vulnerability against short ball.

I dont remember SA 06/07 but I remember Karachi 06 vs Akhtar/Asif and the reason he failed in that test was swing. Akhtar and Asif swung the ball and Sehwag had no answer. This is what I have been saying, that he has a weakness against the moving ball..

As for short balls, as Migara said, maybe if its at 140mph at the body on a pitch that offers bounce. Now before the test match, I did not expect the Mohali pitch to offer that bounce. From what it looks, it did and he got out. Nothing more to it.

 

[Black_Warrior]

I'd say Sehwag is weak against short ball, but the challenge is to bowl that short ball at 140k+ directed at the body all the time. I don't think there is an bowler in the owrld who could consistently do it. And if you err in the line, with that length you'd be disappearing soon. McGrath could have done that, so was Wasim, but I fail to see any other bowler of recent past doing it consistently.

I agree with your first point but McGrath/Wasim were not 140k+ though..
McGrath would have persisted with line and length and Sehwag would ultimately nick to the keeper/slip. Wasim would get him with his swing.

 

[aussie]

I'd say the MCG is pretty bouncy by current world standards.

And his failures in India vs England in '06, Australia in India (except Nagpur), SA in India etc. probably had less to do with bounce and more to do with moving his feet, considering we're talking of Indian pitches here.

The MCG pitch in 2003 when he scored that 195 was certainly not bouncy. That entire series had flat pitches (except for the 1st session of the second day of the Brisbane test when the conditons got overcast & Khan took 5 wickets).

In all those others series it was a combination of him being troubled by short pitched bowling @ the body & inswingers which exposed his lack of feet movement.

I can remember instances in all those series where the likes of McGrath, Gillespie, Hoggard, Flintoff, Steyn, Ntini would try the "two card trick" of a few body bouncers - then send in the sharp inswingers & he would be out lbw or bowled.

 

[aussie]

You are missing a couple of points. Just because he averaged 14 somewhere does not necessarily mean he got out due to his vulnerability against short ball.

I dont remember SA 06/07 but I remember Karachi 06 vs Akhtar/Asif and the reason he failed in that test was swing. Akhtar and Asif swung the ball and Sehwag had no answer. This is what I have been saying, that he has a weakness against the moving ball..

As for short balls, as Migara said, maybe if its at 140mph at the body on a pitch that offers bounce. Now before the test match, I did not expect the Mohali pitch to offer that bounce. From what it looks, it did and he got out. Nothing more to it.

Yes in the 06/07 tour to SA on those bouncy decks the likes of Ntini/Steyn/Nel certainly troubled him with the short ball @ the body.

@ Karachi 06. The ball the Akhtar got him with in the 1st innings was a rising short delivery outside off-stump that he hung his bat outside off-stump. He wasn't comfortable with it, since he even jumping in the air while playing it. The second innings however was with a big inswinger from Asif.

Any good fast-bowler who gets a bouncy surface should be able to test Sehwag with short pitched bowling, since they are a few fairly good 140+ bowlers around the world ATM. The fact that Johnson & the AUS quicks bent their backs on slow surface & had Sehwag in some trouble, doesn't argue well for encounters againts similar bowlers on bouncy overseas decks. The South Africans will surely be taking note of this.

 

[Shri]

Yes in the 06/07 tour to SA on those bouncy decks the likes of Ntini/Steyn/Nel certainly troubled him with the short ball @ the body.

@ Karachi 06. The ball the Akhtar got him with in the 1st innings was a rising short delivery outside off-stump that he hung his bat outside off-stump. He wasn't comfortable with it, since he even jumping in the air while playing it. The second innings however was with a big inswinger from Asif.

Any good fast-bowler who gets a bouncy surface should be able to test Sehwag with short pitched bowling, since they are a few fairly good 140+ bowlers around the world ATM. The fact that Johnson & the AUS quicks bent their backs on slow surface & had Sehwag in some trouble, doesn't argue well for encounters againts similar bowlers on bouncy overseas decks. The South Africans will surely be taking note of this.

Did you even watch the last test? It had good bounce from day 4 and it was a lapse in concentration that got Sehwag out. He just guided a short ball just outside off to gully trying to uppercut without any power in the shot. But yeah, bouncers can be used to set Sehwag up and get his wicket like you said. He doesn't get out to bouncers much but balls that are bowled after bouncers when he is uncomfortable.

 

[Contra]

The MCG pitch in 2003 when he scored that 195 was certainly not bouncy.

I lol'd. Seriously look at the first 2 balls and tell me the wicket wasn't bouncy -_-

Heck that first shot against Bracken was almost identical to how he got out in the second innings against Aus in this first test. Just that sehwag was caught in 2 minds weather to go for it or leave it and just ended up guiding it to Hussey.

 

[Top_Cat]

I lol'd. Seriously look at the first 2 balls and tell me the wicket wasn't bouncy -_-

Heck that first shot against Bracken was almost identical to how he got out in the second innings against Aus in this first test. Just that sehwag was caught in 2 minds weather to go for it or leave it and just ended up guiding it to Hussey.

Hmmm, thought the first one, if anything, didn't get up as high as it should have considering the ball was delivered at 144Km/h. Second one got up okay but I'd hardly call that steep bounce. Remember that deck being fairly flat, at best the bounce being 'useful' but, well, it was 7 years ago. May have been the first of the MCG drop-ins?

Not that any of that should detract from the quality of Sehwag's knock or suggest he's a flat-track bully.

 

[aussie]

Did you even watch the last test? It had good bounce from day 4 and it was a lapse in concentration that got Sehwag out. He just guided a short ball just outside off to gully trying to uppercut without any power in the shot. But yeah, bouncers can be used to set Sehwag up and get his wicket like you said. He doesn't get out to bouncers much but balls that are bowled after bouncers when he is uncomfortable.

Their was nothing bouncy about the Mohali pitch. A bouncy pitch is Perth, Barbados, Jamaica at their peaks in the 70s, 80s, 90s.

The bounce AUS quicks out of that pitch was due to the real extra effort they put in.

I lol'd. Seriously look at the first 2 balls and tell me the wicket wasn't bouncy -_-

Heck that first shot against Bracken was almost identical to how he got out in the second innings against Aus in this first test. Just that sehwag was caught in 2 minds weather to go for it or leave it and just ended up guiding it to Hussey.

Has poster TopCat just said, for a delivery bowled @ 144 that ball didn't get up as it should, on a real bouncy deck that would have flown over his head easily. Plus i watched that entire tests, i have it on tape until today (although it has a bit of fungus now) & their was nothing bouncy about that pitch at any point. It was flat for the entire test, a few balls that may have bounced doesn't change that.


Lee who was poor test bowler back then along with the rest of the average AUS attack. Generally on that day on pitch that offered no movmenet etc, bowled to Sehwag's strenght & he smoked them.

Not that any of that should detract from the quality of Sehwag's knock or suggest he's a flat-track bully.

It certainly does show he is FTB. Since it was a flack track againts the worst AUS home bowling attack during the dominant years of 95-2006/07. You of all people should be aware of this.

Sehwag has never played such a robust attacking innings againts a top pace attack on a pacer friendly deck.

The South African series later this year will so end this Sehwag debate for all time.

 

[Contra]

Hmmm, thought the first one, if anything, didn't get up as high as it should have considering the ball was delivered at 144Km/h. Second one got up okay but I'd hardly call that steep bounce. Remember that deck being fairly flat, at best the bounce being 'useful' but, well, it was 7 years ago. May have been the first of the MCG drop-ins?

Not that any of that should detract from the quality of Sehwag's knock or suggest he's a flat-track bully.

I thought the first was more of an accurate bouncer than anything. And in any case there is not much use in bowling short balls over the batsman's head when u can bowl accurately and actually hit his head (or close to it). Also Bracken and that other bowler who was bowling mid way (by the look of the action it looks like Andy Bicheal but I could be wrong) aren't really guys you would expect to get big bounce. But when you look at most of his cuts they were played pretty uppishly and that's not because Sehwag likes to play uppishly either. Most of the balls were bowled short and wide but the wicket defo had a little more bounce than your average wicket. I'm not saying it was a perth like bounce but there was still enough in there for a good bowler to exploit. But then again the bowling attack was pretty **** in that series,lol.

Although I will admit that MCG (and all Australian pitches in general) have been getting slower for whatever reason. I remember in 07/08 when we toured MCG was very slow and low and perth also didn't have as much bounce as you would expect.

 

[Burgey]

Did you even watch the last test? It had good bounce from day 4 and it was a lapse in concentration that got Sehwag out. He just guided a short ball just outside off to gully trying to uppercut without any power in the shot. But yeah, bouncers can be used to set Sehwag up and get his wicket like you said. He doesn't get out to bouncers much but balls that are bowled after bouncers when he is uncomfortable.

But I think we need to keep in mind that if you're getting tucked up by short balls, it isn't always the short ball that gets you out. It may be the wide one thrown in that gets you as you're looking to score.

It's why I think you can't just look at the one ball when thinking about this issue. You'd have to sit and watch the whole innings (or a good portion of it anyway).

Not saying you haven't btw.

 

[Burgey]

Their was nothing bouncy about the Mohali pitch. A bouncy pitch is Perth, Barbados, Jamaica at their peaks in the 70s, 80s, 90s.

The bounce AUS quicks out of that pitch was due to the real extra effort they put in.



Has poster TopCat just said, for a delivery bowled @ 144 that ball didn't get up as it should, on a real bouncy deck that would have flown over his head easily. Plus i watched that entire tests, i have it on tape until today (although it has a bit of fungus now) & their was nothing bouncy about that pitch at any point. It was flat for the entire test, a few balls that may have bounced doesn't change that.


Lee who was poor test bowler back then along with the rest of the average AUS attack. Generally on that day on pitch that offered no movmenet etc, bowled to Sehwag's strenght & he smoked them.



It certainly does show he is FTB. Since it was a flack track againts the worst AUS home bowling attack during the dominant years of 95-2006/07. You of all people should be aware of this.

Sehwag has never played such a rbust attacking innings againts a top pace attack on a pacer friendly deck.

The South African series later this year will so end this Sehwag debate for all time.

But who does play that type of attacking innings when conditions are pace friendly and the attack is top shelf?

I can't think of that many tbh. Hughes at the MCG vs the WI, though that deck was more up and down than a green top. Roy Fredricks at the WACA in 75-76 was probably the most coruscating test innings played against crazy fast bowling on a bouncy deck.

I'm sure there are others, but they aren't a dime a dozen.

 

[vcs]

I lol'd. Seriously look at the first 2 balls and tell me the wicket wasn't bouncy -_-

Heck that first shot against Bracken was almost identical to how he got out in the second innings against Aus in this first test. Just that sehwag was caught in 2 minds weather to go for it or leave it and just ended up guiding it to Hussey.

Wow, thanks for that clip. Reminded me just what an amazing knock that was. We used to have 45(150) specialist Aakash Chopra at the other end those days while Sehwag used to score at a run a ball.