Not that the ICC's commercial arm will be in favour of rolling out the green given the tastes of an average Indian fan but there are compelling factors and statistics which indicate that the fast bowlers will play an instrumental role in shaping the destiny of the current event.
What will make this competition different from the preceding ones is the fact that most top teams have bowlers who can consistently bowl over 140 clicks. Add to that the new fielding restrictions, bigger boundaries, two new balls and relatively livelier tracks than the ones in the subcontinent - the captains have little option but to rely more on their specialists.
If hosts Australia have the Mitchells (Johnson and Starc) in their ranks, then co-hosts New Zealand have the likes of Trent Boult and Adam Milne who can give the speed gun a busy time.
Then there's the lethal South African combination of Dale Steyn & Morne Morkel where one relies on sheer pace and swing while the other is only too happy to bounce people out. The duo feed off each other and have accounted for over 200 wickets bowling in tandem. England have done well to preserve James Anderson and the athletic Lancastrian has looked sharp in the ongoing tri-series Down Under. The 6 ft 7 in frame of Steve Finn invokes images of batsmen negotiating disconcerting bounce from back of the length and India have already got the taste of it at the Gabba recently were he nabbed five. The West Indian side may be in complete shambles following the latest revolt but they have in their ranks a decent pace battery led by captain Jason Holder. It's another story if they will be able to fire as a cohesive unit given the reported acrimony in the camp.
When it comes to the pace department, Pakistan have always managed to keep their noses ahead. But this time though they don't seem to have bowlers like Imran Khan had at his disposal in 1992. Neither do they have game-breakers like Wasim Akram who changed the course of the 1992 final with one magical spell at the MCG. They do have Mohammad Irfan, the supposedly tallest cricketer (7 ft 1 in) in world cricket, who has suffered more breakdowns in his short career than Indo-Pak relations. If the let-arm seamer gets going, he's likely to extract more juice from the Aussie tracks than any other medium-pacer.
Sri Lanka have relied heavily on Lasith Malinga, but the 31-year-old has just come off an ankle surgery and still has to bowl at full throttle.
India are looking at the possibility of opening the bowling with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Stuart Binny. It doesn't really inspire confidence as they function at harmless speeds. Umesh Yadav does bowl at a brisk pace but he does travel far when attacked. Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma have had issues with their form and fitness and the duo has struggled to move the ball on or off the pitch.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
In recent times, Australia and New Zealand haven't been happy hunting grounds for spinners and statistics confirm this. A recent survey says that in Australia slower bowlers average 55 balls per wicket while the quicks who concede 35 since 2009. But the spinners do enjoy a better economy rate (4.86) as opposed to fast bowlers (5.21).
The current tri-series backs this with fast men like Starc (11 wickets) accounting for 49 wickets in four matches while the spinners have only 8 wickets to show for their efforts.
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