About Us	Search	Advertising

	Brought to you by:

After being cooped up for more months than they would wish, the local cricketers seemed to have discerned the faint waft of raw linseed oil as the new season approaches - although still a good seven weeks away.

Already, they have had two net practices on the concrete pitches. For some, sadly, the value of the practices will remain only exercise.

There's a joke about poor golfers who spend hours hitting balls off the practice tee: "Aah, he's perfecting his faults", is the comment from cynical onlookers.

Some would-be fast bowlers will be happy to continue where they left off last season - willy nilly attempting deliveries at near astrophysics speeds down the leg side.

Former provincial all-rounder and Fish Hoek resident, Mike Bowditch, has tried to impart his famous captain Eddie Barlow's match-wining mantra. "Bowl a foot outside the off stump so the batsman has to play shots to score". This theory pre-supposes that batsmen playing attacking shots to score runs are more liable to leave themselves open to error than those content to defend. Empirical evidence strongly suggests that this is so.

Bowditch's advice was ignored because it came from "an old style" cricketer. No matter that the old-style cricketer took 9/52 and 3/68 on a provincial bowling debut against Natal at Newlands in the 1955/56 season.

Let's turn to a modern bowler, who has recently taken more than 500 Test wickets. This one says, "I just try to bore the batsman out. There's no real secret to taking wickets. If you can land 99 balls out of a hundred where you want to, (aiming for) top of the off stump, you will take wickets".

Those words come from Glenn McGrath: 9 English wickets for 28 runs in the 1st Test at Lords about a fortnight ago. What will he do come Thursday this week?

There's absolutely nothing wrong about bowling as fast as one can, so long as McGrath's advice is committed to memory. The advice applies equally to the gentlemen and lady fast bowlers at FHCC.

	Back to top
©