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PACE LIKE FIRE - IS CWI SHORT SIGHTED?

 
XDFIX 2018-02-04 08:43:16 

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rubberd 2018-02-04 09:25:06 

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Saw Delorn Johnson bowling at the oval yesterday and wondered why he has made no progress. I was impressed many years ago when he got a bundle of wickets against Barbados at the oval and felt here was the ideal replacement for the left armed Pedro Collins.
Over the 10 years from under 19 in 2007 he has managed just over 100 overs/year in 4 day regional cricket.
Is this not the blueprint for why players,especially fast bowlers, will opt to play elsewhere if they have the choice?

 
NYCGURU 2018-02-04 09:47:37 

In reply to rubberd

Word coming from some quarters, is that he never worked hard enough at his craft. It appeared that he was on the verge at that period you mentioned, but fell away for whatever reasons.

 
mkcharles 2018-02-04 10:08:28 

In reply to rubberd

The question is why after ten years everyone is still talking about this guy who has been a spent force for more than 5?

I watch the 4 day and current 50 over both live and online and if you want new quick blood to develop with good basic skills have a shout for Sherman Lewis, Kemoo Paul, Jeremiah Louis or Chemar Holder.

The best bowler in the 50 over right now is Miguel Cummins who by the way has the best stats of a regional fast bowler in 4 day the last 5 years and yet it seems will never be most people’s cup of tea. It all makes you wonder.

 
robbo 2018-02-04 10:08:34 

His ship has sailed... he was the WI best bowler against a strong Indian A batting side a few years back and he looked super fit... he’s overweight now and about a yard and a half slower.

 
NYCGURU 2018-02-04 10:19:17 

In reply to mkcharles

I watched Cummins yesterday, what struck me was how much smoother his runup was. The best way to describe his bowling right now is sharp and a little quicker than usual.

 
mkcharles 2018-02-04 10:22:00 

In reply to NYCGURU

Well that’s the difference, once he doesn’t try to hit 90mph which he will never be.

Of all the quick bowlers in the region bar Kemar Roach he actually has the balls to get out batsmen consistently.

I sense a new maturity and an understanding of what is now required. I also think that playing with a Kemar Roach is helping him in this regard.

 
robbo 2018-02-04 10:34:27 

In reply to mkcharles

He gets bounce as well... he’s always had the ability to bowl genuinely wicket taking balls but has too often looked innocuous....he has been bowling on wickets recently that have ‘had a bit’ for the bowlers (as every wicket the world over should) so I suppose we must temper our enthusiasm for him but he has looked very good....I hope he maintains this form.

 
XDFIX 2018-02-04 10:37:16 

Windies players do not invest time in personal development - always looking to CWI as a godfather!

 
mkcharles 2018-02-04 10:38:36 

In reply to robbo

Agreed... his problem has been inconsistently.

I am not close to these fellas but if I were in his think thank I would ask him to tell me how he sees himself as a bowler and how does he feel he is able to take wickets on any given day? The answer to thaese question may perhaps tell us a lot.

However I sense a greater appreciation for his craft in recent weeks aided by more responsive pitches and long may it continue.

 
robbo 2018-02-04 10:45:51 

I couldn’t stomach watching the latter parts of the recent NZ tour but it was reported that he bowled really well at times...with Gabriel seeming to have declined recently WI really badly need someone else to step up.

I’m not sure about Alzarri Joseph.... he has either been badly out of form or injured in the last year...I really hope he does emerge fresh, fit and quick very soon.... he is a natural talent.

 
mkcharles 2018-02-04 10:59:23 

In reply to robbo

Cummins bowled well in that last test... I think he’s above our other quicks in regional cricket but only time will tell if he can take international wickets consistently. When I see him I always think about the Antiguan Kenny Benjamin who perpahs was more lion hearted. I think its a bit of that self belief that is missing.

I like Alzhari because he has the look and make up of an international bowler. I saw him in bowl a wonderful spell in early 2017 at Kensington and thought he was ready for the next level. He wasn’t before his injury and I think he is short of work.

What we as fans don’t get is that touring and sitting on a bench does not help these lads to develop their skills. The best thing is for him to play consistently and bowl. I still hold out hope that he will eventually be the leader of the pack in 2 years time. Let’s hope he is injury free and fit and focused.

 
robbo 2018-02-04 11:06:25 

In reply to mkcharles

Yeah I agree totally re Joseph... If he’s not going to get into the playing 11... then I would rather he bowl... I realise with injuries and lack of opportunities it’s been difficult but it just feels that he has regressed over the last 12 months.... it will be very interesting to see how he goes when he starts playing again.

 
seaegg99 2018-02-04 11:16:17 

In reply to robbo

It seems like he grew up in NZ. Cummims got frustrated when he get hit for a few boundaries. His attitude to fast bowling was more inline with Holder's. He really isn't that type of bowler because he is more pacy. He just was not aggressive enough and I think the NZ fastbowlers showed him how to do it. The lefty pacer wasn't fast but was very aggressive and kept coming even when he got hit around. Cummims have more to offer than him in terms of talent now he have become aggressive. The young fast bowlers in the region seems to have picked up the mentality and few now will gain an extra yard of pace because of it.

Enough of spinners bowling 30 - 50 overs and pacers getting 5 - 10. Just stupid management and captaincy. Our batsmen now have really no clue against aggressive fast bowling.

 
openning 2018-02-04 11:20:54 

In reply to rubberd
What format are you guys advocating for his selection?
How well did he bowled in the 4-day series, especially after tea, how was his pace an accuracy at during that period?
Johnson seems to bowl early in the inning, but his 6-10 overs in a 50 overs match, tells the story.

 
mkcharles 2018-02-04 11:29:20 

In reply to seaegg99

Well said... that’s why I liking the wickets at Kensington in this 50 over. The fast bowlers gets energized and we really get to see laid bare all of the defiecincies in the batsmen and the mediocre slow bowlers who have been having their way for too long on the dirt beds that are prepared all over the region.

 
robbo 2018-02-04 12:08:09 

In reply to seaegg99

Yes I’ve been saying recently that fast bowling....and I mean ‘fast’ bowling ...is as much in the mind as it is physical.... you surely have to really want to bowl quick and of course be confident enough to do so.... also you have to be willing to put up with a lot of discomfort and pain... Tino Best was saying on commentary yesterday that he never felt 100% ok... he s always had a least a bit of a niggle especially for the first few deliveries of a spell....I’ve felt for a while that many regional bowlers have got at least half or three quarters of a yard of pace up their sleeves..... a wicket with even a bit of nip and pace is perhaps all it needs to encourage them to bend their backs a bit more consistently.

 
WICFan 2018-02-04 12:10:12 

Help pacers with the pitches, at least give them something and then they'll hopefully bowl more than 8-12 overs per innings.

Roach, Gabriel & Cummins would be the top 3 for Tests,then Holder.

Cottrell would be 1st choice for ODI'S.

After that there is a gap, Pascal & McClean have disappeared, Johnson is apparently out of shape, Richards has gone backwards,Tonge is probably done, Keon Joseph is getting there.

A. Joseph has been inconsistent & has had injuries but he needs to play some FC cricket.

Chemar Holder looks a good prospect, Berridge & Shepherd to. So the future isn't bleak, you just need to be patient.

 
XDFIX 2018-02-04 12:25:15 

Our competitive advantage is and has always been pace - that's where our focus should be, not on lollipop spin!

 
mkcharles 2018-02-04 12:31:50 

In reply to WICFan

Have a look at Sherman Lewis...tall quickie that bowls a natural outswinger to right handers.

 
rubberd 2018-02-04 17:47:47 

In reply to openning

The article was about taking care of our pacers. I am saying that you cannot develop bowlers if they bowl on avg 100 overs per year.

That amounts to bowling 5 days a year as at intl level one would be expected to bowl about 20 overs a day. Kinda hinting at why the talent never developed. Another promising quick Jevon Searles, I recall playing club cricket in Barbados and getting about 5 overs before the captain tossed the ball to the spinners.

 
XDFIX 2018-02-04 20:48:53 

In reply to rubberd

Agree 100%

 
seaegg99 2018-02-04 21:39:14 

In reply to rubberd

Spin bowling have been killing our cricket for many a year now. What they haven't realize is the batting gets weaker against fast bowling. Hence the holes at the top of the order in producing world class top order batsmen.

 
openning 2018-02-04 21:53:00 

In reply to rubberd

Don't you think the problem is, having too many Medium Pacers and very few Fast Bowlers?
It was good to see Roach bowling nine overs on the trot, in his last match.
I enjoy a fast bowler bowling 100 mph at 10 am and at the same speed after tea, after being in the sun all day.
They are very few West Indies bowlers, that seem fit enough to carry that load.

 
seaegg99 2018-02-04 22:06:47 

In reply to openning

Not fit enough because they are not worked enough. After five overs they go to spinners right away. Dumb regional cricket management. You would never know if a guy can do it because he is never given the chance.

 
Pacy 2018-02-05 02:43:23 

In reply to openning

Fittness comes with practice. In the West Indies our quicks are ignored and captains use spinners more than the Quicks.

This season Trinidad played 1 Seamer in some of the matches who just was there to bowl a few over with the new ball and then wait till the next new ball.

If you bowl 15-8 overs for every one day it would work. But this season saw a few new fast bowling faces emerge. But the solution would be in creating more hard and true wickets in the Caribbean. As they improve our bowling stock will surely improve.

True pace has no substitute even with all the protective gear.

 
sunfish 2018-02-05 10:47:44 

Paul was very impressive last night and so too was Rutherford who was getting exaggerated movement both ways.

 
XDFIX 2018-02-05 16:49:08 

It's really a travesty when one looks at the height and size of J. Ho bowling at pedestrian pace! It tells me that these guys are not being conditioned to think pace like fire!

 
CricketFan 2018-02-05 17:49:20 

In reply to XDFIX

Fully agree with the article. Look at India, they have MRF pace foundation, which producing so many fast bowlers now a days. Look at India U19 team, they already have fast bowlers who are clocking 145k.

West Indies needs to have pace bowling foundation and with some favorable pitches, will make more competitive in Australia, England, south Africa.

 
rubberd 2018-02-05 19:43:11 

In reply to CricketFan

So now we like India in the early 80's when spinners bowls the majority of the overs and took the lions share of the wickets. I recall recently Bishoo being over-bowled as the captain struggled to find the right combinations.