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    Fast, and not so fast, bowlers

    By Scott 2 years ago, at the end of November Leave a comment on this post

    There’s been more ink and bytes spilled on the Steve Harmison issue then any other English player in the last week or so then I can remember. Given that so many English hopes rested on his shoulders, that is understandable.

    Jagadish crunches some numbers on Harmison. Meanwhile, his fellow fast bowlers escape scrutiny.

    England’s other bowlers deserve some stick as well. Matthew Hoggard is an honest toiler, but he will struggle in Australian conditions. The lack of reverse swing has gone a long way to de-fang him. And, let me make it clear, it would have de-fanged Simon Jones as well, if he had been here. There might have been a few less half volleys, but it is wishful thinking to think that England’s attack would be much more dangerous with Jones about. At best, he might have stemmed the tide.

    Since Jones is not around, England called upon two younger sorts. Jimmy Anderson got the nod at Brisbane, and he was mediocre. His bowling figures reflect that too. He was not able to bowl a consistent line or length to develop any pressure on the batsmen and Australia’s batsmen just waited for the bad balls and picked him off.

    And there’s no excuse for that- his performance was barely worthy of first class cricket. Anderson needs to stop worrying about his hair product, get a copy of his Brisbane pitchmap, and get his arse in the nets and start working.

    He certainly doesn’t deserve a place in the Adelaide Test but he might get it; the only other pace alternative is Sajid Mahmood. I saw Mahmood in the first game of the tour against the Prime Minister’s XI, and he was even worse then Anderson. If England seriously bring him into the XI for Adelaide, it will be Christmas come early for the Australian batsman.

    Much more likely is the introduction of Monty Panesar. I’ve not seen him bowl except for highlights, but everyone that has seen him was surprised that he wasn’t included at the Gabba. From what I can tell, England’s best option is to include both spinners, and rely on Flintoff to attack with short sharp bursts, including the new ball.

    Giles is not regarded as a serious wicket-taking options, but he does have the merit of keeping it tight. That is a handy virtue to have while Panesar is attacking at the other end. It is a huge ask to Panesar on Ashes debut, but England’s bowling plight is desperate, and there’s nothing else for it.

    Anyway, that’s my take. Tim de Lisle has his take here. What’s your take?

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    7 Responses to “Fast, and not so fast, bowlers”

  • Tom wrote:
    November 29th, 2006 at 4.00 am

    Last Ashes series in 2002-03, I remember Hoggard and Harmison struggling to find the correct line and length (remember Harmison’s horrific over of 7 wides in Hobart against Australia A?). Granted these were two bowlers who were new to the game of Test cricket, but the Australian attack made them look like district cricketers.

    Last year I hardly considered Hoggard and Harmison a threat, based purely on their performances in Australia. Of course, they bowled extremely well, but the English conditions and pitches were perfect for them; just as Australian pitches are havens for Australian quicks - you grow up learning how to adapt to the condition.

    I think a lack of practise on Australia, or on similar style pitches in conditions that do not give swing, reverse of otherwise is part of why the English attack is struggling.

    I think it’d be unfair to drop Giles, I thought he bowled and batted particularly well, attacked the stumps instead of putting it outside off spinning away to right handers. From the outcry’s of the Pommy press, it sounds like Panesar should be included considering the only way to play against Australia is continually attack.

    My England XI

    Strauss
    Cook
    Bell
    Peitersen (Needs to bat in 4th, or at any rate higher than 5th)
    Collingwood
    Flintoff
    Jones
    Giles
    Hoggard
    Harmison
    Panesar
    Joyce (12th man)

  • SpryCorpse wrote:
    November 29th, 2006 at 5.08 am

    I think you guys have summed it up rather neatly.
    Needless to say, Adelaide is absolutely crucial now for England. A loss would see the tour spin right out of control - it could break careers and captaincies.
    They must at least muster a draw.
    A win would mean that Harmison was back. Rightly or wrongly, I too see English hopes riding on him disturbing the equanimity of the Aussie top order. It is too much to ask of Panesar to dismantle a Test batting order of this quality. Not completely impossible - but far more likely that his bowling is dismantled.
    Of course, Flintoff’s impact could increase as we go - if the captaincy is not distracting him too much.

  • S Jagadish wrote:
    November 29th, 2006 at 5.16 am

    Scott, I picked on Harmison purely because he keeps being labelled as ‘world-class’.

  • Scott wrote:
    November 29th, 2006 at 5.21 am

    Ah, sorry Jagadish, was having a go at the wider media for ignoring Harmison’s collegues, not you. I thought your statistical dissection of Harmison was very good, that’s why I linked it.

  • S Jagadish wrote:
    November 30th, 2006 at 7.07 am

    But yes, you’re right. The rest of the bowling was quite hopeless. Harmison’s performance lorded over them all though.

  • Tassiedevil wrote:
    November 30th, 2006 at 8.21 am

    I say give Monty the ball in Adelaide. Didn’t he give the Aussies an awful fright in Canberra?
    …or was that just one of the spectators…

  • The Ashes Blog wrote:
    November 30th, 2006 at 9.38 pm

    Deja vu…

    So Australia won the first Test in Brissie by scoring a lot of runs, and Glenn McGrath came in and knocked over England cheaply. Now we’re heading into the second Test, and McGrath is in doubt with a foot injury. Hmmm … haven’t we bee…

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