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HEADLINE: Langer in awe of West Indies' fast-bowling talent
CaribbeanCricket.com
2016-06-28 06:08:58
Justin Langer was particularly impressed by Alzarri Joseph, West Indies' highest wicket-taker at the Under-19 World Cup this year
West Indies cricket would go a long way to reaching its potential if Caribbean pitches regained the pace and bounce of yesteryear, according to Australia's stand-in coach Justin Langer. After Australia won the tri-series final against West Indies on Sunday, Langer said he had been in awe of the talent he had seen among local net bowlers over the past month.
However, the pitches offered up during the series tended to be on the slower side, as has been the case in the region for many years. Langer said he found it baffling that pitches were prepared that would help spinners such as Sunil Narine, who he said was "still going to be a star" on any surface due to his natural talent, instead of fast bowlers who could rattle opposing batsmen.
"There is so much fast-bowling talent here," Langer said. "You've got big, tall, beautiful athletes, and they run in and bowl fast and they keep bowling all day, but I don't understand why they play on such dead, low, lifeless wickets. It doesn't make any sense to us.
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doosra
2016-06-28 06:19:40
In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com
"There is so much fast-bowling talent here," Langer said. "You've got big, tall, beautiful athletes, and they run in and bowl fast and they keep bowling all day, but I don't understand why they play on such dead, low, lifeless wickets. It doesn't make any sense to us.
water on duck back
silver
2016-06-28 07:26:45
In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com
You think they will learn to bowl if they bowl on helpful pitches
robbo
2016-06-28 07:28:28
Nice to here him say that...would be interesting to know who the other net bowlers (apart from Joseph) were that so impressed him...sadly no one will listen to his comments about the wickets... This has been said for over 20 years now...nothing changes and poor / mediocre spinners continue to dominate at every level and all regions.
BeatDball
2016-06-28 07:43:10
When are WI going to get off their arses n do something about the pitches? Fact!
Narper
2016-06-28 07:52:43
In reply to doosra
and they keep bowling all day
mamaguyism
Drapsey
2016-06-28 08:23:39
In reply to BeatDball
When are WI going to get off their adses n do something about the pitches? Fact!
Maybe when they find a way to fund the upgrade. Another cut in the earnings of the stars might just suffice.
Baje
2016-06-28 08:31:54
If you look at our last two matches. Against SA on a lively wicket our bowlers were encouraged. Angel looked like a devil.
In the finals on a slow slow wicket, Angel was angelic.
Fast bowlers need encouragement. It is not as if we are trying to prepare spinning wickets either. We are just clueless when it comes to wicket preparation.
Fivestar
2016-06-28 09:23:44
In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com
Wait a minute didn't our wonderful president declare he was personally going to take charge and ensure we prepare better pitches through out the Caribbean for regional and international matches?
analyst-kid
2016-06-28 09:42:20
I can recall over 20 years ago Malcolm Marshall lamenting on this same issue as a player. He was complaining about coming back to dead pitches in the WI after playing overseas.
deanjones
2016-06-28 10:05:00
ou've got big, tall, beautiful athletes, and they run in and bowl fast..
Wonder if the same could be said of Indian players
Cleg
2016-06-28 10:32:06
In reply to Drapsey
Maybe when they find a way to fund the upgrade.
You are joking of course!
These peeps aka the BUMS squad....dont "fund" anything.
They only know how to "lie and tief"
As far as they are concern they dont own the Grounds...and they NOT PAYING A SHYTE TO THE OWNERS!
Khaga
2016-06-28 10:37:49
In reply to deanjones
Good point..I keep thinking about Indo Trinis and Indo Muddies..how come that fast culture in the WI didn't inspire them?
DIEHARD
2016-06-28 10:40:01
In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com
I think Justin Langer knows a thing or two about cricket, and he's saying what I've been saying.
PCL and all that is great, but the very first..most basic thing that needs to be done..is fix the gawdamm pitches!!
Can't develop proper cricketers, or spot the right talent properly.
Our fast bowlers can't hone theis skills, our batsmen cant learn to face pace, and our spinners get a false sense of confidence.
Rubbish, WICB is a gawwdam joke!!!
WICFan
2016-06-28 10:59:05
Do pitch curator's in the Caribbean know how to prepare lively pitches?
Andy99
2016-06-28 11:23:48
Have a variety.
Spinning in Guy and T&T so when he go Asia we doh look at sea and pace in Jam and Bim so we when we go SA and AUS we doh fraid pace.
If we can get the WinDot and LeeDots(Antigua & St. Kitts to produce some seaming pitches and batting tracks then that would be awesome.
Its just a dream and thats all it'll be.
Kay
2016-06-28 12:58:05
Look both sides got to play on whatever pitch is presented in the middle ... period!!!
If our pitches are more tailored and suited for fast bowling then the opposition benefits from that advantage too. When I look around I think I can clearly see that everyone else got better pacers than the likes of Holder, Brathwaite, Taylor, Gabriel, Roach etc.
It's not a clear cut win/win situation ... we may even pick up some serious blows apart from losing
Pacy
2016-06-28 13:48:30
In reply to WICFan
Do pitch curator's in the Caribbean know how to prepare lively pitches?
If they dont bring in people from elsewhere who can make the pitches faster and true...
I would reiterate, the first 2 rounds of cricket showed how the pitches are bad and do not aid strokeplay. Batsmen are forced to play for survival all along and a score of 200 or 220 being a winning score.
When you breed batsmen whose basic instinct is survival, you cannot expect them to have all the shots. They do not have any scope to learn them either.
Same with the Quicks. All the pitches are dead and even the once super Quick Bim pitch is slow in the finals. Apart from Pace quick bowling needs excitement and adrenalin to go for quicker and better heights. The slow sluggish wickets just kills most Quicks. We are not going to have Quicks as long as we have these slow, low dead pitches
Drapsey
2016-06-28 14:34:09
In reply to WICFan
Do pitch curator's in the Caribbean know how to prepare lively pitches?
Charlie certainly does, but he was fired after preparing such a lively pitch that we got bowled out by the Pommies for 46 (or something close).
Real-cricket
2016-06-28 17:27:40
In reply to silver
You think they will learn to bowl if they bowl on helpful pitches
what did Holding and co. learn to bowl on?. In our great years we had a variety of pitches, now we have only slow low ones
Real-cricket
2016-06-28 17:31:08
In reply to Kay
Fast pitches suits our style of play. We are having a hard time developing stroke makers because we do not have the pitches to do so. When we were world beaters our pitches were better. Now that our pitches are slow and low we are also playing slow and of course we are low down in the rankings. These Caribbean pitches are contrary to the style of cricketers that we can produce
If you could harness the natural ability you've got in the West Indies with those tall fast bowlers ... it would get the batsmen more used to facing fast bowling, more used to facing short-pitched bowling. And with the natural talent they've got it won't take long. But you've got to face it. You've got to be exposed to it.
Baje
2016-06-28 18:53:21
In reply to Kay
Thats his point. We dont have better pacers because we dont have the wickets to develop them
Fivestar
2016-06-28 20:13:20
In reply to Drapsey
Charlie certainly does, but he was fired after preparing such a lively pitch that we got bowled out by the Pommies for 46 (or something close).
reply
They should not have blamed the curator but rather our fast bowlers. Our quicks got carried away and bowled too short. They terrorised the England batsmen but weren't bowling wicket taking deliveries. Then Harmison came along, bowled the right length on the same wicket and skittled us out. Fast bowling isn't all about brawn, the brain has to be working too.
powen001
2016-06-28 20:35:10
In reply to Pacy
Our pitches have been under scrutiny for over 10 years now..
I am not convinced we see it as a genuine issue...after all...We have birthed numerous spinners since then.
romanticking
2016-06-29 02:33:58
DIEHARD
2016-06-29 12:04:05
In reply to Fivestar
They should not have blamed the curator but rather our fast bowlers
you highlight another problem here in the region, we capitulate to personalities too much, and not to a priniciple.
so cos King Lara did said so..it looks like that has been stuck in the minds of every curator ever since, and we continue to get these rubbish pitches all like the one Lara wanted for that particular game, to nullify the threat of Harmison, Hoggard and Flintoff, and to enhance the strength of...whichever rubbish spinner we had at the time who has since been discarded...
DIEHARD
2016-06-29 12:06:07
In reply to Baje
Thats his point. We dont have better pacers because we dont have the wickets to develop them
It's not rocket science is it?
And then your batsmen by facing more threatening pace bowling will get more adept at playing it.
It's not rocket science..pitches are a major part of our failure to get better, especially away from home