Pace is all we need

“There is no dearth of talent” is a quote we have heard umpteen times from ex-cricketers and cricket officials in India and Pakistan, both of whose fates have been running parallel in recent months.

The cricket Boards of both the countries have faced a lot of flack in recent times owing to the lackluster performances in the World Cup and the whole “coach fiasco” that the neighbors have gone through. However, there is one major difference, which has stood out, between India and Pakistan. India have been lagging behind in the bowling department in one particular aspect, and that is pace bowling.

Pakistan’s list of high quality genuine fast bowlers is long, from the times of the young Wasim and Waqar to the new age Shoaib and Sami. We have had our share of genuine swing bowlers in Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar. But it is a bit astonishing to observe that India have not yet produced a genuinely quick bowler of international standard.

The argument could be that the lack of pace in the Indian pitches makes the young 'Turks' concentrate more on line and length than on speed. But then, even wickets in Pakistan are not known for their pace friendly nature either. Some say it might be in the genes to produce speed rather than the desire or the technicalities of fast bowling. India's neighbours are more blessed in that respect, but it is surprising that down the years and with such a large players' base, nobody has really been blessed with genuine pace.

The problem is not in anything else but in our minds because we have had so many bowlers who were really quick at the start of their careers but soon became slower and tried to bowl a good line and length. Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel are prime examples of the above-mentioned observation. Pathan and Munaf are classic cases who sacrificed their pace for more control with the ball.

But the question is whether such a bargain is desired. Pathan lost his place because of his poor showing with the ball. It's hard to believe that the same Pathan, who was so impressive on the Australian tour a few years ago, would one day be ecstatic just to be named in the Twenty20 probables. What caused such a downfall for the young Baroda bowler?

In today’s highly competitive level of cricket with aggressive batsmen trying to cause havoc in the bowling attacks, line and length does not really matter. What use is trying to bowl a perfect line and length when the Gilchrists and Haydens are dancing down the track improvising and hitting pre-determined shots on the up and through the line after studying videos of each bowler for hours. The world of cricket has changed. It’s fast and unpredictable and the only way you can counter aggressive batting is through aggression in the bowling.

How many batsmen dare to improvise and dance down the track to Shoaib, Lee or Malinga? It is agreed that having a fast bowler in your ranks may cause you a few extra runs at times but it would also win you matches often. It was disheartening to see a young well-built fast bowler like Ranadeb Bose bowling at what can only be termed as gentle medium-pace against Sussex a few days ago. He might do well in the seaming conditions of England but what happens when he gets less friendly conditions against an attacking batting line-up?

The lack of performance by the Indian bowling for a long time has proved that line and length bowling on flat tracks, especially in the shorter version of the game, is of not much use. The country badly needs one genuine fast bowler who will hopefully turn-around matches for India and add that crucial spice to the lack of sting in the bowling attack.

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