Ram Mahesh writes on the classic swing produced by Zaheer Khan and RPSingh in the first two matches against England.
Disguise is everything. Neither changes his action or slants his wrist noticeably: for the batsmen looking for cues, few, if any, appear. Zaheer, at times, drags his fingers down the inside of the ball for the outswinger to the right-hander, but it’s done so fast, it’s barely detectable.
The least discussed aspect has been their pace. Swing bowlers tend to hold the ball further back in their fingers — Damien Fleming said he rested it in the hollow between the thumb and his first two fingers — to release the ball with back-spin. This controls the seam, keeping it upright, but robs the delivery of pace.
R.P. Singh has hit the high 80s (mph), while Zaheer has been timed in the mid 80s. It’s an exceptional effort to produce swing at this pace. And at this pace — as quick as their English counterparts, incidentally — the batsman has little time to adjust; his already difficult task of playing as forward as possible as late as possible made incalculably harder.
Length is crucial, and it is here that many falter. Swing presupposes a full length; but, a full length permits driving. It’s the classic contest — the drive against the swinger. It makes for enriching viewing, having as it does levels of strategy, skill, bluff, and execution.
Only bowlers of confidence and daring can play at this table; pertinent then that no English bowler, not even Ryan Sidebottom, landed it as full and swung it as much as Zaheer and R.P. Singh.
URL : http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/02/stories/2007080261742000.htm
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