Swing it to win it

It is astonishing most indians do not understand the stamina require to bowl 145+ kmph speed on average. you need stamina and leg strength. you can't eat dal and chappathis and want to be fast bowler in india , you will only find mediocre bowlers who huff and puff after every delivery. Indians should learn to eat beef and be strengthen legs to get the spring in the step. Beef is best food for an athlete. That is only one only reason indian bowlers lack stamina and strength , mojo runs out after first 2 test. I also think india must adapt scouting system to find talented players avoid favoritism , caste politics and corruption in BCCI selection process.

However, Ian, I want to know what would happen when the openers of the batting side see off the new ball and settle down to play a long innings. Especially, batsmen from the sub-continent are really good players of spin bowling, which gives rise to the need for fast bowlers (bowling with the old ball) to reverse swing it. Not always can fast bowlers get the top order out cheaply. So they have to come up with ways to take wickets with the old ball too.

Hi, Ian. You are right on the money this time around too. Thats the reason why it makes reading your article a great pleasure. Speaking on the current topic, it was a treat to watch Mohd. Asif bowl his swingers against New Zealand in Dec on his come back, and now Steyn against India.

All true - but I'm astonished Ian didn't mention Imran Khan, Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis in this article. When it comes to swinging a cricket ball - old or new - at high pace, these guys are STREETS, MILES, AVENUES ahead of everyone he mentioned to illustrate his points. Strange omission in a good article.

I think fast bowlers in particular are having problems these days, because they cannot consistently bowl an off-stump line, at differing high speeds and bowling lengths with a bit of movement to go with it. It is absurd to blame the pitch when the issue is lack of competent talent. The biggest grouse of the Indian fan is that the Indian pace bowlers are VERY MEDIOCRE when compared to their counterparts in the other test playing nations. A fast bowler's work isn't tiring at all, as long as he is able to perform well. That keeps him excited and going. Keeping the runs down while bowling to the offstump will ALWAYS fetch wickets as all three options of taking wickets then become available - bowled, caught and lbw. A good fast bowler is one, who not only uses his skill but also his brains in out-thinking the batsman. A good bowler is not one who gets wickets out of unforced errors but out of forcing errors, like any good professional tennis player! So, why the whining?

Really nicely written article. Swing is a fascinating art form and brilliant to watch when a bowler is on top form. Whoever facebook user is, try reading the article with both eyes open, it's far easier to see what is actually written that way.

It is well and good when you get swing in indian pitches. Lets see how SA pacers perform in the 2nd test and then comment further. It is not that ppl r waiting for the reverse swing always, but in these indian conditions that is much more "normal" than the initial swings, I believe. Unlike the english conditions, where the bowl swings more, here it is mostly for an hour or so where you get to see such things. I don't think getting the indian batsmen out twice in indian wickets is not an easy task. Giving full credits to the SA pacers, including Steyn, if they are able to do that again, then lets talk abt the swing or pace.

Don't forget other swing bowlers who caused lots of problems: Md. Asif throughout is career, the two great W's of Pakistan, terry Alderman in the Ashes and more. It is my belief that conventional swing is just as hard to achieve as reverse swing. But the latter has a certain "glamor" to it and everyone's obsessed with perfecting it. The ideal bowler is one who can achieve conventional swing with the new and reverse with the old. Pace has nothing to do with it. Which is why Sreesanth's inconsistent performances are so hard for Indians to swallow since he's the only genuine swing bowler around in india.

thank god, southafrica got "the changed ball" after tea in the 1st test. if india had got it and zaheer reverse swung it to similar collapse. graeme smith and the mngt would complained to the referee, the boards and maybe even to their mothers.

I agree Ian, bowlers should concentrate on learning how the swing the ball conventionly before trying to learn reverse swing. Facebook user, please re-read the article. At no time did Ian Chappell accuse anybody of cheating so please take your foolish, ignorant rant somewhere else. One wonders how such comments are allowed on the comments board, to para-phrase a goose!