Aakash Chopra suggests Ravindra Jadeja should have come on earlier against Ben Stokes, and wonders why India’s fast bowlers have stopped bowling cutters
Aakash Chopra19-Nov-20162:45
Compton: Umesh lacks a bit of skill
Umesh’s use of the creaseIn the first over of the day Umesh Yadav showed he’s constantly evolving as a bowler. He’s not only clocking speeds in the high 140kph range consistently but also using the crease quite well. Usually he bowls from the middle of the box but in the first over today, he went to the corner of the crease and also came closer to the stumps. The idea behind using the crease is to create new angles and therefore sow the seeds of doubt.Are modern helmets ideal for keeping?The helmets used in cricket are manufactured to protect the batsman and are designed from a batsman’s perspective. A batsman isn’t required to look up or down but a wicketkeeper is, for in the wicketkeeping stance he is required to look up and on other occasions forced to look down as well. In terms of both comfort and visibility, the modern helmet isn’t meant to be worn by the wicketkeeper. Time to manufacture a wicketkeeper’s helmet?Left-arm spin to Stokes?The pitch has held up really well thus far, and the business areas haven’t disintegrated one bit. The only area of concern was the footmarks on the far end but those too were only likely to bother the left-hander. Surprisingly, Ben Stokes’ numbers against left-arm spinners aren’t great – in the two Tests in Bangladesh, he was out to left-arm spin in all four innings – and therefore it might not have been a bad idea to start with Jadeja and target the rough outside his off stump. India chose to operate with fast bowlers instead and by the time Jadeja got into action, Stokes had already made a strong start to the day.
Type of bowler Runs Balls Dismissals Average SROffspin 442 713 12.00 36.83 61.99Left-arm spin 181 308 6.00 30.16 58.76No substitute for paceOnce a batsman gets set on Indian pitches, there’s not much a fast bowler can do to dislodge him, for there’s no help from the surface. Even if there’s reverse-swing available, it’s not as lethal unless you have extra pace. To produce a wicket-taking ball, you need extra pace, and that’s where Umesh was sensational. He beat a well-set Bairstow with extra pace, for that accentuated the reverse-swing. This Indian team is blessed to have two fast bowlers who bowl at over 140kph consistently and that’s why they have been able to contribute in this home season.Broad’s leg-cuttersThe ball that dismissed KL Rahul highlighted Stuart Broad’s ability to bowl cutters. He pushed the ball inwards a little more while putting a little more pressure with the index finger to get away movement off the pitch. Anderson also did something similar to Vijay and then to dismiss Pujara. While Indian seamers have bowled quicker, Anderson and Broad have found more lateral movement off the pitch on this docile pitch. In fact, there are few like Anderson and Broad in the world.There was a time when almost every Indian fast bowler used to bowl cutters, since they honed their craft on matting surfaces. But as cricket moved to turf pitches, the reliance on cutters reduced dramatically and that reflects in the Indian fast bowlers of this era.The data clearly shows how much England’s fast bowlers emphasised the use of cutters. Ben Stokes, Anderson and Broad achieved average deviations off the pitch of 0.65°, 0.58° and 0.53°, while Shami managed just 0.11° and Umesh 0°.
