finn struggles to get into englands test side as a few other bowlers are doing. the guys 6' 7" tall and 15.1/2 stone, bowling in the last 50 overs match and T20 games of speeds of betwen 89 and 95 mph the guys got 50 in 12 test the quickest i think to that total. and over the last 6 month has bulked up and is no longer the beanpole he was. if he can get back into the test side by god he will be a handfull. any young aussie bowler look at this guy at 22 and thats were u want 2be. dpk

looking at his state stats thats not bad. if he can bowl at 90mph and his runs per over looks good, he maybe ok in a few years time. but you need more than 1. and you need them know. dpk

Aussasinator: that's an interesting story about Dennis Lillee's coaching methods. However, he did coach Brett Lee, who isn't exactly slow, and also such bowlers as Chaminder Vaas and Zaheer Khan who, although not express, have both got a lot of wickets against top-class batsmen. Isn't the point that a seam bowler must have a combination of accuracy and movement to trouble top batsmen? If he also has speed, fine, but speed alone won't get top players out- in fact, they love it, the ball goes faster to the boundary. I'll give you a couple of examples: Richard Hadlee and Shawn Pollock both started as tearaway fast bowlers. Both slowed down, shortened their run-ups and became great bowlers- just check their stats. I suggest your cousin's problem was not lack of pace, it was that he bowled straight up and down. That just doesn't cut it at top level. If Cummins does nothing in the air or off the pitch, he'll fail, no matter how fast he is.

@Aussasinator...while its impossible to know whether your cousins career would have taken off,even excluding Lillee,it raises an excellent point.It challenges the assumption there is only one path to success.During the recent SL series,the home teams pace bowling attack was very weak.On investigating their records in 1st class cricket,the strike rates were good,the averages reasonable,but the average number of wickets per game was rarely as high as 3.Thats significantly lower than one might expect.Those two facts in combination suggest that they bowl short spells as strike bowlers,either when the ball is new,or when its old and reversing.Lillees mentality might have been similar to McGraths.Bowl long accurate spells and small variations.Clearly,in the hotter,drier conditions experienced on the sub continent,doing this every day would take the edge off a bowler.It explains why the necessity of taking quick wickets was thee mother of invention,of reverse swing in that part of the world.

@kellhound. Agreed it's all part of a fast bowler's life. Somebody spoke of Dennis Lillee. Well, Lillee as bowler and Lillee as coach at MRF in India are two different personalities. As a bowler he was a super craftsman , genuine wicket taker and role model. Coming to hs role as coach, let me narrate an incident. My cousin, about 15 years ago, was selected as a probable alongwith 10 others at MRF by Lillee, after being narrowed down from a list of 55 aspirants. Then began the training under the great man. My cousin was rather quick and cold generate raw pace mind you. Within three days, Lillee made him change his action a wee bit. The result was that his arm was coming straighter and higher up, rather than a bit roundish. Net effect was that pace dropped by 25% but he could bowl accurately onto a coin placed at the other end. My cousin initially didnt regret it but he did, after his career never took off on account of lack of pace. Lillee did it to all his wards except Srinath.

@getaclue...in my world,7 games would be irrelevent.This is a comparative statement and the terms of reference have been set by the selectors,not me.However,working on the principle that for reasons best known unto themselves,a young fast bowler must be chosen in this squad by the outgoing selectors,I deemed it judicious to choose one whose record had at least the charm of wickets in each format.Given the proliferation of bowlers,recently gifted Test caps with as few or fewer games,I feel that my principles are sound.If I were pushed to select a young,genuinely fast bowler based on those principles,it would be Coulter Nile,with 32 wickets at 23 in 7 games and a S/R of 44.It compares rather favourably,with Cummins 9 wickets in 3 games at 46,S/R 90 and his 'no' List A wickets at all.

Posted by   on (September 29, 2011, 4:42 GMT)

@marcio, Steve Finn's test record is excellent, not sure how an average of 25 is "average" Also How can you select a player for ODI's when he HAS ZERO list A wickets.... i know he played well in T20, but he didnt do well in the other formats and there are other bowlers with more experience that would be better. also mitch marsh isnt international quality let...too early for him...Dan Christian would have been a much better pick

@hyclass. You are surely taking the micky about Coulter-Nile. When has twelve wickets been enough or conversely 7 games? He hasnt even played a full season, why would he even be considered. Cummins though is an absolute joke. I've taken as many List A wickets.

I am confident that Troy Cooley and Craig McDermott will help him channelize his energies to develop Patrick Cummins into a great bowler.

@Micgyver...the speed of the ball is measured at a point,shortly after it leaves the bowlers hand.By the time it arrives at the batsmen,it has slowed considerably.One of the great arguements about which bowler is the fastest ever,is the measuring point for the speed.Thommo always claims that measured under todays conditions,he would be 15-20kmh faster,because,back then,the camera measured the speed at the batsmans end.Its one of those great arguements over a drink.He was only measured a few times in his career.Its not unreasonable to suppose he bowled faster at times.According to Ian Chappell,Thommo often bowled faster into the wind.In one spell,he describes Marsh & the slips moving further back every ball,as his pace increased.His brother Greg,broke his finger twice fielding in slips to Thommo,the only time it ever happened to him.Greg faced all the great pacemen of the 70s & early 80s.I often wonder about THAT 1931 Eddie Gilbert spell to a feted Bradman,fresh from conquering Larwood.