Tinkering, always tinkering. Bowlers are always fiddling around with the nuts and bolts of their job: grip, slower balls, yorkers, follow-through, round-the wicket. Always something.
There is a difference between fine tuning and real changes, so it was a surprise to see Jimmy Anderson, before the second West Indies innings in the recent final Test at St Lucia, messing about with his run-up. It is a paradox of his career that it began at Lord’s 16 years ago with a brace of no-balls, and that subsequently it has been marked by a virtual absence of them. But he was called once in the West Indies first innings and there had been one in Christchurch 12 matches previously, which to him might constitute an epidemic. So there he was working with Chris Silverwood, and after 5,378 previous Test match overs he introduced a rather undignified shuffle into what had previously been the most well-oiled run up in the game. It prompted talk of run-ups lengthened and shortened. There was Mark Wood adding paces to his, Stuart Broad shortening his and now Jimmy doing the shuffle almost as if run-ups were this year’s coaching fashion item. Certainly it brought to my mind the development of Steven Finn half a dozen years ago. The young Finn had a long run, exceptionally so and it was obvious to any moderately discerning eye that not only was he cruising in the latter part but actually decelerating into the crease, which negates the point in the first place. He was encouraged to shorten it, not by much, but sufficient to allow him to hit the crease hard, and for a while he was rapid, as deadly a fast bowler as there was in the game. Then, for some reason, despite encouragement from, among others, Jimmy, he became ambivalent. So, before the Test series in New Zealand in 2013, and in order to try to help him appreciate the potential benefi t, I, with the blessing of the England management, contacted Richard Hadlee, my old friend and one of the greatest bowlers who ever lived, to see if there was a chance of a meeting with Steve. Richard’s schedule precluded it, but he sent me a series of emails to pass on which are a brilliant tutorial. I offer on an abridged version here. “I was 29, struggling with injury, and the short run-up was the best bowling decision I ever made,” he wrote. “I was three times more effective in performance and results. It allowed me to be more explosive at delivery and it was easier to hold my position instead of falling away. My head position was key like batsmen, straight and still with eyes level at delivery and my head and eyes went towards the batsman, allowing my body to follow it down and offers the pitch. All very simple. “The shortened run lightened the load on my body because rhythm, timing and coordination became more important than brute strength and power at delivery. There had been a tendency to force the ball down the pitch rather than bowl it. A more relaxed run-up became far more precise and consistent: less could go wrong in 15 paces than 25. “The perception is that if you are a new ball bowler, people – players, spectators, media – expect fast bowlers to have a long run as part of the spectacle. However, common sense tells us to do what is necessary and right and the only person who needs to be satisfied is yourself. I copped a bit of fl ak from the media and some players because the perception was that I was taking short cuts. I can now refer them to the record books. I could still sit batsmen on their backsides but my greatest asset was that I could get closer to the stumps and had better control of swing and seam. It was easier to test batsmen because my channels and lines were as simple as ABC – straight lines from the top of the run to the crease, deliver the ball, and at the other end hit top offers stump or thereabouts with a margin of error.” As he said, simple. Before the change, Richard had 126 Test wickets from 29 games at 28.46. After, he managed a further 305 at 19.75 with 28 fi ve-wicket hauls. He had played for a further 10 years, until his last Test at Edgbaston when 39 years old. Visit here for the cricket world cup schedule 2019
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