'Do Not Tinker With Fidel's Action'
Mon, Jun 30, '03
After the sensational and successful Test debut for fledgling West Indies'' fast bowler Fidel Edwards, his Barbadian coach Wendell Coppin is warning cricket purists not to tinker with the slinging, unconventional action of his young charge.
Coppin, a former West Indies Under-19 fast bowler, who rubbed shoulders with ex Test captains, Jimmy Adams and Carl Hooper in the 1985 regional youth team which played a three-match "Test" series against Young England in the Caribbean, said Edwards, who took five for 36 in his maiden bowl, is a special kind of bowler.
"I am one of those people who strongly believe that if a player comes to you with an action or stance, unless it doesn?t work, I think you should not tinker with it,? said Coppin, who was instrumental in getting the rookie pace bowler to join the YMPC Division One club in Barbados, two years ago after spotting him bowling in a "friendly" game back.
?My only observation (of his action) is the fact that his bowling arm doesn?t get closer to his right ear when on delivery and sometimes it is a little more perpendicular than I would like to see it because he comes more like a leg-break action where the ball sort of slings from the 60 degree angle," Coppin said.
?That is the only area that I would want to work on but I haven?t done too much in tinkering, whether with his action, his run-up or any aspect of his bowling," added Coppin.
The 21-year-old Edwards was boldly chosen by the West Indies selectors after a solitary first-class match on the insistence of captain Brian Lara, who batted against him in a net session when the team practised in Barbados.
In the second innings, Edwards bowled consistently at 90 miles per hour with his fastest delivery clocked at 91.7 mph. while he struck struck Sri Lankan fast bowler Thilan Thushara on the helmet.
?It is more a case of modifying what he has and what he has brought before me and try to make him stronger, try to make him understand the rigours of fast-bowling and what is necessary to gain selection into a Test side and he has thankfully grabbed all of it and we are now seeing the fruits of the work that he has put in,? Coppin said.
But Coppin, a cricket coach with the National Sports Council in Barbados, agrees that Edwards could benefit from any advice given to him by the legendary Australian fast bowler Jeff Thompson, who tormented Test batsmen with his pace and hostility in the 1970s, bowling with a similar action.
?I think that would be a fantastic idea because obviously Jeff has a first-hand knowledge of the mechanics in bowling in that particular way. It is not a conventional action?and I would be very keen to hear what Mr. Thompson has to say to him and I would love to be there if he does get that opportunity to speak to Fidel at some time,? Coppin said.
Coppin, who is also President of Edwards' YMPC club, which has also been the home to past West Indies players such as Joel Garner, Collis King, Anderson Cummins and Sherwin Campbell, said Edwards, like his older brother Pedro Collins, the left-arm fast bowler, who also plays for the West Indies, never played cricket while at secondary school but concentrated on football.
"Collins made the switch from football to cricket when his fast-bowling talent was spotted and so has Fidel...I am very proud. It?s a tremendous feeling. I was jumping up after every wicket,? an ecstatic Coppin after watching Edwards? amazing debut Test performance of five for 36 in 15.4 overs from the YMPC clubhouse.
?The delight for me was that I was the person who initially invited Fidel to come up to YMPC. It was after YMPC had made a trip down to Boscobel (Edwards' home village) in an annual game that was played between the two teams back in 2000. It was from that game that I saw young Fidel and I saw him bowl at brisk pace.
?I asked him if he was interested in playing first division cricket and I then prompted our then president, Paul Bridgeman to carry out the necessary procedure in getting him inducted into the club. That was promptly done and the rest is history,? Coppin recalled.
Coppin said there are a number of good qualities which he saw in Edwards from very early.
?I like his attitude. What struck me about him in that particular game, he didn?t get a lot of wickets but he kept running in, there was a lot of zest. He was very enthusiastic and eager, someone who was willing to learn. You could tell he was a listener and most listeners become very good learners,? noted Coppin.
?Fidel is a very nice lad. He is very quiet and he is very soft-spoken," added Coppin while noting he had a notion from early in the year that Edwards would gain selection on the West Indies team but he wasn?t expecting it to happen so soon.
?The timing of it has come as a surprise. I certainly thought that he had all the potential in becoming a Test cricket, especially in view of the present climate in West Indies cricket where we are short of genuine quick bowlers.
?I thought that the possibility of him gaining selection to the West Indies team was imminent?but the West Indies selectors must be commended for their foresight,? Coppin remarked.
?I remember a couple of months ago that I indicated to him that he needed to put some extra work in because I could see a call was near. I was looking more towards South Africa later in the year, more than this home series,? Coppin said.
?I could?ve seen with a lot more hard work, he would?ve certainly pushed for a place (on the Barbados team) in the Red Stripe Bowl. I thought that would?ve been a stage where he could showcase his talent as I really thought a place in South Africa would have been there for the taking,? Coppin added.