The Cricket Thread 2016

[Whiney MacWhineface]

Four day Tests? Colin Graves, please go do one.

[taylorsworkrate]

Has anyone seen much of Wood who's going on the Windies tour? Lots of people are saying he bowls with pace.

Pace in terms of 85-87 mph from what i've seen. Not actual pace.

[PaulWinch again]

That's frustrating. I mean he might be great, but we need a bowler who can regularly bowl at 90mph +.

[paul_e]

That's frustrating. I mean he might be great, but we need a bowler who can regularly bowl at 90mph +.

We don't produce them.  Even when we steal one from the west indies we slow him down to try to make him a swing bowler.  I'm hoping that a change to the bowling coach may help but I doubt it.

[tomd2103]

That's frustrating. I mean he might be great, but we need a bowler who can regularly bowl at 90mph +.

When did we last produce one of those? 

[paul_e]

That's frustrating. I mean he might be great, but we need a bowler who can regularly bowl at 90mph +.

When did we last produce one of those? 

Harmison?

[PaulWinch again]

Finn comes to mind, but then we overcoached him and messed him up. He regularly bowled at over 90mph.

[PaulWinch again]

If I were the ECB I would break the bank and bring Troy Cooley back. He was our best bowling coach by a mile and look how he turned Johnson around for Australia before moving into the academy set up.

[Villan For Life]

Trouble is though exactly how much autonomy does the bowling coach have? No doubt he has to follow instruction from the head coach. It's the coaching mentality that's at fault not the individuals delivering it.

I quite like Ottis Gibson, we have him back for the Caribbean tour. Hopefully he can help Jordan discover his pace.

[tomd2103]

Finn comes to mind, but then we overcoached him and messed him up. He regularly bowled at over 90mph.

I'm not sure he bowled over 90mph on a regular basis Paul and the same with Harmison.  I've mentioned it before, but I think the reason we haven't produced a genuinely fast bowler for some time is that players are over coached from a young age.  Any technical difference that may allow a player to bowl very quick (think Johnson and Malinga) would be soon ironed out when they go to a club at a young age. 

[PaulWinch again]

I don't know part of Finn's success was that he bowled quick. That's why he's lost his edge now. I do agree about over coaching, but I also think it's down to our conditions. I think too many bowlers are happy to settle at medium fast, because it swings around.

[Villan For Life]

I don't know part of things success was that he bowled quick. That's why he's lost his edge now. I do agree about over coaching, but I also think it's down to our conditions. I think too many bowlers are happy to settle at medium fast, because it swings around.

This is where exposure to the IPL/BBL/Caribbean T20 would help our bowlers.

As it stands English players play so infrequently on the hard, fast pitches in Australia and the Caribbean or the comparitive dustbowls in India. Rejig the fixtures and allow our players the freedom to gain more experience of overseas pitches. Imagine the bowler that Jimmy Anderson could have been if he'd had more exposure to different conditions.

[paul_e]

Both Finn and Harmison were regularly up in the high 80s a few years ago but when harmison broke through he was more erratic but capping out at 91-92

[tomd2103]

I don't know part of things success was that he bowled quick. That's why he's lost his edge now. I do agree about over coaching, but I also think it's down to our conditions. I think too many bowlers are happy to settle at medium fast, because it swings around.

He lost his edge when he went into the England set up and they began messing around with his action and run up.  It's why I fear for the likes of Jordan and any other young players going into the Team England environment.

Thinking back, Simon Jones was regularly bowling in the 90's before his original knee injury out in Australia. 

[Proposition Joe]

England don't produce out and out quicks, but I'm sure Harmy got it up around 94-95mph on occasion.  Back in '05 he produced balls that were too quick for Ponting and Langer on the Lord's pitch.  Going back a little further, we had Devon Malcolm and Sid Lawrence who could bowl quite rapid, but were erratic.  But it does make your heart sink when you hear about so-and-so who's supposed to be rapid, you check him out on cricinfo and it says "fast medium".

By the way, I wonder why India don't produce real fast bowlers but Pakistan have produced some of the fastest (and best).

As for Finn, when he came on the scene he was high 80's low 90's on occasion but he bowled a really awkward length I seem to recall.  And he also had a touch of the golden arm about him.