Cricket at the Crossroads : Part II - Test Bowling

The test bowling scenario looks to be in better health than its more crowd pleasing counterpart – at any rate there are more exciting young fast bowlers around in test cricket than at any time over the past decade. While marquee names like Steyn, Anderson and Zaheer continue to perform at an exalted level (though you wonder at least if the Indian is not running on borrowed time), names like Pattinson, Cummins, Philander, Roach, Starc, Finn, Yadav and co make fast bowling an extremely enjoyable sight to watch for the connoisseur. Even a few names that have been around for some seasons, have found fresh wind over the last year or so – the likes of Hilfenhaus ,Siddle, Morkel, Broad. The problem that the cricket boards and coaches face with this young and exciting crop, is to battle harden them and keep them free of injuries. Young Cummins, after one of the more spectacular debuts in recent memories (man of the match performance with bat and ball in a test in South Africa) has failed to play another test match, while Pattinson (who ideally along with Starc and Cummins should ideally form a long and potent pace attack for the Aussies) has also had his share of injuries. Though maybe not wrapped in cotton wool, the challenge is for these bowlers to be used wisely, especially in limited overs cricket and the lucrative but potentially career threatening professional leagues. It will be a travesty if any of these young guns go the way of a Simon Jones (though his demise can hardly be attributed to limited overs cricket).

Cummins and Pattinson : The great Aussie hopes

The spin bowling scenario is much more grim and the cupboard looks particularly threadbare, with the possible exception of Pakistan who have couple of decent spinners headed by the controversial but effective Ajmal. Elsewhere, the cricketing world still looks hopefully for heirs to the likes of Warne, Kumble and Murali. Swann is a good bowler but his performance has tailed off over the last  year (India will be the acid test for him). The Aussies have tried all sorts of combinations from Beer to Kreja to Lyon but still have that one spot to fill in an attack which is otherwise world class (so much the pity in that their batting look so fragile). Nowhere is the absence of quality spinners being felt than in their real background – India. Pragyan Ojha is probably the only spinner who looks likely to inherit the no 1 tag with his willingness to attack on any surface. Ashwin’s stellar start to his test career is a bit misleading; all his wicket taking performances have come against the likes of West Indies or New Zealand on turning pitches. He was found woefully exposed in Australia. If he is to cement the number one spinner’s tag, especially in overseas conditions, he has to attack more and show production on wickets offering less assistance. India’s lamentable spin bowling situation is expressed nowhere better than in the fact that Piush Chawla is apparently the 3^rd choice spinner – oh, how the mighty have fallen. Harbhajan Singh has done nothing of note during his fully justified exile from test cricket to warrant a return to the side. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that he may get back into the side for the test against Australia with at least one of our wise men citing how he ran through the Aussies in 2001 (let’s hope this fear and cynicism is grossly misplaced).