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Graeme Swann not given the opportunity to spin a longer yarn |
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Jul 30, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
Ashes Third TestTaking one wicket for the price of just four runs suggests the spinner should have bowled more than two overs If this Test is to be remembered as Tales of the Unexpected, Roald Dahl could not have written a more tantalising opening chapter for Graeme Swann.
It was the shortest of short stories: 12 deliveries, four runs given up, a wicket taken and another that might have been had the excellent umpire Aleem Dar been of a mind to view Shane Watson's legs as being stuck between the off-spinner's non-turning, full delivery and the stumps.
It was, according to the technology and thousands of well lubricated onlookers, utterly plumb. Perhaps Dar had not switched his radar from quick to slow. Whatever, Watson was handed an escape that might yet turn this match. If he goes on to add to his 62tomorrow, if he defies the critics who regarded his selection as beyond left-field, Swann's lbw shout will echo plaintively as a lost moment.
Had the makeshift opener departed then, on 37, a storming start by Australia would have been at least temporarily blunted, because Watson was, in Dahlian fashion, surprising everyone with the quality of his batting. |
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Indian spin bowling will never die |
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Jul 29, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
When a legend retires he is quite irreplaceable. That is what Australia is realizing at the moment. They have been able to make up somewhat for the retirements of Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn, even Glenn McGrath as the bench strength consisted of able batsmen and fast bowlers. But it is the absence of Shane Warne that has really hit them the most.
To make matters worse for the Asussies, Stuart MacGill called it a day at about the same time and the spin attack is as bare as Mother Hubbard's cupboard. The gallant efforts of Nathan Hauritz and Jason Krejza notwithstanding they have their limitations and the lack of balance is clearly showing in the bowling. It is hard to win matches by pace bowling alone - the West Indians of the eighties always being an exception largely because of the outstanding quality of the bowlers involved.
Looking at how the Australians are struggling without Warne, I'm reminded of how Indian spin bowling - Indian cricket's traditional strength - has never really suffered such a lacuna for the last 70 years. Great spinners have graced the line-ups over the decades but when the time has come for them to ride off into the sunset more than adequate replacements have always been found. |
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The 'doosra': an art of spin bowling or chucking? |
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Jul 28, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
Ever since Pakistan's spin wizard Saqlain Mushtaq invented the away-going delivery, off-spinners around the world have clamoured to perfect the 'doosra', which has proved to be one of the most lethal deliveries in cricket.
All top off-spinners in world cricket, including Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka and India's Harbhajan Singh, have used it with great success over the years.
However, the 'doosra' now seems to have become a pain in the neck for some, particularly the Australians.
Former Australia spinners, including the legendary Shane Warne, have raised a unanimous alarm against coaching the controversial 'doosra' in the country, with Ashley Mallett terming it nothing but 'chucking'.
Former off-spinner Mallett says the delivery can never be legitimate as it cannot be bowled by a finger-spinner without 'chucking'. |
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Razzak makes winning Bangladesh return |
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Jul 28, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
ROSEAU, Dominica — Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak made a triumphant return to the Bangladesh side when he helped the Tigers win the opening one-day international against West Indies by 52 runs on Sunday.
Razzak, who was prevented from bowling in international cricket in December 2008 due to a suspect action before having his suspension lifted in March, opened the bowling and took four wickets for 39 runs as Bangladesh defended a target of 247 at international cricket's newest venue of Windsor Park.
"I was not surprised when the captain gave me the new ball, especially with the way the pitches have been playing in the Caribbean during this series," said Razzak.
"When I played in the Caribbean in the 2007 World Cup, I also used the new ball, so it's normal.
"But this was important for me. I was out of the team for eight months, and now I am back in the side, I am looking to do well."
The victory gives Bangladesh a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with the second ODI scheduled for the same venue on Tuesday, and the final ODI on Friday at Warner Park in St. Kitts. |
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Aussie spinners agree to flick 'doosra' |
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Jul 27, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
SYDNEY — Australia's leading spin bowlers say they are firmly against coaching the controversial 'doosra', with one Test great saying it is an illegal delivery.
The 'doosra', an Urdu term for a ball that turns away from a right-hander, as opposed to a conventional off-spinner which turns towards him, has engendered debate over its legitimacy in world cricket.
Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has been credited with introducing the unorthodox finger-spinning delivery and it has been used by, among others, Test cricket's all-time leading wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan and India's Harbhajan Singh.
But a gathering of Australia's prominent spin bowlers at a 'spin summit' last month in Brisbane, details of which emerged on Monday, concluded that the doosra cannot be bowled legally and there was no place for it to be taught in Australia. |
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Back in the day.. |
Brief but brutal Barry Richards' seven-week Test career....More |
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"Chirps" |
"He is essentially a bowling machine. He has had success by operating mechanically."
Vic Marks explains the workings of Monty Panesar, in the Guardian
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