I was watching Yadav and Aaron against Australia earlier today, and it got me thinking: what is it, really, with India and true pace bowling? Both youngsters are promising, and capable of bowling quick and hostile spells that can trouble even the best batsmen. Yet the question remains: just how much have they kicked on since they first emerged two-three years ago? And if there is any relative lack of progress, are they to blame, or are there structural issues at play which would necessitate a reassessment? I've read all sorts of theories purporting to explain the historic dearth of world class Indian pace bowlers (especially by comparison to neighbouring Pakistan) over the years, from the absence of red meat in the national diet to the way pitches are prepared and the consequent focus on spin and lack of emphasis on fast bowling as a weapon at all levels of the game. I don't credit the first but find the second highly plausible. If the detrimental effect of such a structural hindrance to an Indian quick is fully baked in, it seems clear to me that he is not really on a level playing field with his peers in places like PAK, ENG, WI, AUS and SA, statistically speaking. Could it be time for a fundamental reassessment of the worth of Indian quicks, past and present?
As good a bowler as Srinath is now remembered as decent, but nothing outstanding. And superficially, the stats support such an assessment: he averaged just over 30 in Tests. Yet having watched him at his peak bowling with wonderful control and consistently quickly (at around 90 MPH) on unresponsive home pitches, and losing nothing by comparison with more heralded visiting quicks from WI, AUS, SA etc, I can't help feeling that said assessment is more than a little unfair. I genuinely believe that Srinath would have averaged 25-27, rather than just over 30, in Tests, had he played home Tests in SA, ENG, or AUS over his career. And, whatever bowling averages Yadav and Aaron end up with, I guess it would be fair in each case similarly to shave 3-5 runs from them to compensate for the 'India factor' - whatever it is and whatever the respective contributions of its constituent components. And whilst the tariff doesn't apply only to genuine pace, bowlers like the above-named seem to be penalized very harshly, whilst bowlers like Kapil and Zaheer, whose metier is medium pace swing, and who also fall foul of the pitch-preparation and spin-favouring-orientation components of the 'India factor', tend to be less harshly penalized. One needs to shave 2-3 runs from their career averages to get a better idea of their worth, as opposed to the 3-5 run deduction from those striving for genuine pace and hostility. To whose number I've just realized I'd also have to add Ishant :-(
As good a bowler as Srinath is now remembered as decent, but nothing outstanding. And superficially, the stats support such an assessment: he averaged just over 30 in Tests. Yet having watched him at his peak bowling with wonderful control and consistently quickly (at around 90 MPH) on unresponsive home pitches, and losing nothing by comparison with more heralded visiting quicks from WI, AUS, SA etc, I can't help feeling that said assessment is more than a little unfair. I genuinely believe that Srinath would have averaged 25-27, rather than just over 30, in Tests, had he played home Tests in SA, ENG, or AUS over his career. And, whatever bowling averages Yadav and Aaron end up with, I guess it would be fair in each case similarly to shave 3-5 runs from them to compensate for the 'India factor' - whatever it is and whatever the respective contributions of its constituent components. And whilst the tariff doesn't apply only to genuine pace, bowlers like the above-named seem to be penalized very harshly, whilst bowlers like Kapil and Zaheer, whose metier is medium pace swing, and who also fall foul of the pitch-preparation and spin-favouring-orientation components of the 'India factor', tend to be less harshly penalized. One needs to shave 2-3 runs from their career averages to get a better idea of their worth, as opposed to the 3-5 run deduction from those striving for genuine pace and hostility. To whose number I've just realized I'd also have to add Ishant :-(
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