I haven't been watching the Champions League, and it looks like lot has happened already, but somehow I managed to catch the 2nd half of today's game featuring theDelhi Daredevils and Wayamba.
And I was particularly impressed by the Delhi Australians (or the Australian Delhi'ites??): Dirk Nannes and Glen McGrath.
Now Dirk Nannes is 30 something and yet his fastest ball was 147kmph.
147!
147
147!!
When will Indian bowlers bowl at those speeds??
Dirk's match figures:
O M R W RR
4 0 24 4 6.00 (1w)
Meanwhile McGrath, while quite clumsy in the out-field, was again accurate.
The speed rarely crossed 123kmph, yet he seemed in control.
His match figures:
O M R W RR
4 0 20 2 5.00 (1w)
Anyway, good win for Delhi; good to see Sehwag among runs and Kartik maintaining his IPL2 form.
Taking Stock
1 hour ago
27 Maidens bowled!!:
The foreigners seem to be playing better on our pitches than the Indians (until today's Sehwag-Karthik fest). Any time a pitch is less than batting-perfect our heroes have tons of trouble. *sigh*
I did not "see' the game but class is class, when it comes to McGrath. Did anyone who saw him bowl feel he could still be playing international cricket?
J,
I know...
:-(
I wish the Indian teams/players start doing better.
Well to be honest McGrath did not seem like would last more than 4-5 overs imo.
But class is class, like you said, and the thing I wanted to highlight was that one of the Delhi Australians is retired from Int'l cricket and the other does not even play for the Aus XI.
And yet they did quite well.
Leela, I agree with you totally. The Australians seem to come with something more than just talent. The IPL and the other teams are littered with players who do not cut it into their national sides. Yet, our Indian T20 champions have not really done anything over a prolonged period of time.
I particularly liked McGrath's comment that he has always been able to drop the ball on a spot, it is pace that he wishes he had. Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, and other McGrath wannabe's could take a leaf out of his book and learn to be consistent over time.
I was looking through the scores - can it be right that the only Indian IPL team to have won a match so far has been the Delhi one and even they lost their first match? What happened to home field advantage and all that?
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It is sad to see the state of Indian pace attack. But seeing McGrath yesterday was a treat...
JQ,
I am amazed that the pace quickly drops for Indian bowlers after just one or 2 seasons... I wonder why?
And the consistency just wasn't there in the prev tournament.
Yeah, looks like only Delhi managed to win.
Aman,
Not intrested.
CPD,
Yeah sad indeed. But the fact that Nehra and Zak have managed to revive themselves after injuries, gives me some hope.
Leela,
Prem Panicker on his blog recently talked about the reason for the pace drop and the assorted injuries/loss of bowling skills that come about in Indian bowlers.
In short, it comes down to conditioning. He has heard from the support staff that a lot of the bowlers do not really have a proper training and nutritional regime till they make it to the national side. Once there, many of them (he mentioned I-Pathan in particular) are obsessed about fitness but more towards what he calls "t-shirt muscles" which are the wrong muscles to be developing if you are a swing bowler.
A second reason could be a study conducted that shows that the optimum speeds for reverse swing are 90mph or higher (145kmph) and conventional swing is 70mph (swing is difficult to achieve above 80mph). So when these dudes want to get conventional swing with the new ball they actually have to slow down the pace, because raw pace does not bother the international batsmen but any swing does.
(I have written about this on my blog...am too lazy to drag up the links but can if you'd like me to).
I think there is a lot of over-coaching that goes along - too many people in their ears - and that ends up confusing them, too.
JQ,
Agree about all that... however, here's the thing: how come Pak bowlers are able to maintain pace v.s the Indians?
Are they more disciplined?
(I don't think so...)
Better coaches?
(maybe?)
I have only watched some highlights of the NSW matches, but I am surprised at how much I am enjoying it. I didn't think I would (I am not a NSW supporter), but I am. Nice to see the crowds really getting into the games, regardless of who they support.
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Sid,
I've just watched a couple of matches here and there ... and that too in parts.
However, I read Nesta's post and he seems to be enjoying the tournament (just like you) and now I want to watch!
:-)
Sure Sreehari! No problem.
Leela, I think the Indians are being "coached" to slow down in order to swing the ball. That coupled with some dubious off-field regimes result in injuries and the bowlers are rationing their energies.
Contrast that with Mohammad Sami, whose pace stayed the same but, in the absence of swing bowling, got exposed and no longer in the frame. Umar Gul and the others have picked up on reverse swing as a way out of the do-not-slow-down-but-still-swing puzzle.
Anyway, not knowing the players, all we can really do is come up with suggestions and I doubt we'll ever find out why that happens.
So now after the Mumbai Indians, are the Delhi Australians the next ridiculously named team?
GO DIRK!
KMC,
OMG!! Delhi Australians does sound as bad as MI; that wasn't what I was aiming for.
:-)
GO DIRK!!
I wish he gets to play for Australia on the India tour.
You see McGrath and you realise there is enough skill left in the old dog yet. Hats off.
Leela,
The best and most consistent Indian bowlers belong to IPL teams that have not qualified for CL!
The Indian bowlers, sans Ishant, playing in the CL, though make a decent case in point!
They do not fire for India, and look at their intensity in these matches!
Som,
I don't think he can bowl long spells, but those 4 overs were (as the cliche goes) on the money!
Ankit,
By the same token, neither Dirk nor McGrath are play for Team Austrlia.
And, in the recent past, Nehra has been our most consistent bowler!
You know how the Australians are, is Dirk even in the squad for India?
KMC,
Not sure.
I hope he gets selected and then gets to play!
Imagine what Victoria would be like if he was playing for him. As it is, they are the best team there is.
Fred,
Yeah imagine that.
But Iam glad he is playing for Delhi.
Since DC and RCB have disappointed me, all my hopes now lie with Delhi.
Go Delhi!
Well imagine how good Delhi would have been with AB de Villiers and Paul Collingwood. They bounced back well after the shitshow they put up in the first game, and they've finally found a place for McGrath. If only they'd played him instead of Warner in the IPL :(
Mahek,
I can't believe how hyped Warner was... and they wasted McGrath.
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