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What do y'all think?

In reply to CricketLuva4

I've often thought about how to play him, a left arm medium pacer who bowls a lot of angled bouncers. Here are the obvious options.

1) Ignore most of the delivers and let him tire out himself. Wait for the pitched up deliveries and try to hit straight because I'm guessing he bowls with mid-on and mid-off up.

2) Stay leg side and try to hit over third man.

3) Stay off side and try to get him over square.

4) Move around before he delivers to put him off and try to flat bat him straight.

5) All of the above.

Don't know why no-one has worked him out yet.

Very unsportsmanlike, but he will get away with it. A West Indian, Lankan, Pakistani, etc, won't.

The Lankans showed how to handle such bowling, during their recent tour of South Africa. The Bangladeshis had a tough time with Wagner originally but played him better, later in the series.

In reply to sunfish

International batsmen can bat better than us. All those methods have been tried and failed to some extent.

And it's not mindlessly bowling bouncers either. They're all directed pretty well, he never bounces too high so it is called wide.

It seems like he also bowls an easy long hop occasionally that the batsman smashes for 4, then follows up with a more venomous ball.

In reply to Norm

I disagree. His bowling is not a threat to the batsman's wellbeing, especially with all the protection they have.

His fields are not illegal. And when he does hit someone he always inquires about their wellbeing.

I think it is pretty skillful what he does. When the Bangla seamers tried to do it back at him, they failed miserably.

And as you pointed out, it can be played as SL showed.

In reply to Norm

2 bouncers per over is the rules and Wagner simply using that to his advantage..I see nothing wrong with that as cricket becomes more of a batsman game of late... batsmen lucky these days because long time west Indians bowled 6 bouncers at batsmen and they had to handle it back then so I can't see 2 bouncers is unsportsmanlike now.

In reply to Devvvvvvv

A bouncer is a ball between shoulders and head. Wagner may only bowl 2 of those, but he combines it with many well directed balls at the shoulder to rib height.

In reply to CricketLuva4

Soooooo...

Batsmen have to get their techniques right.. Wagner would get absolute hammer bowling those short pitch stuff to batsmen with sound technique to play short bowling..say a virat,Rohit,Warner,Smith and even Gayle.. take a look at the sri Lanka just concluded test series. The south Africans bowl a barrage of short bowling to the Lankans and the south African bowlers are way fast than Wagner, we all know who wins that series..Bangladeshi batsmen are very poor in dealing with short pitch bowling hence Wagner is looking good..

TBH post complaining about short bowling is absurd

In reply to Devvvvvvv

Yes we are in agreement. It is not abuse of the bouncer rule.

Wagner has managed a 5fer against OZ on a flat deck. He doesn't care if he gets smashed around as long as he gets wickets.

In reply to CricketLuva4

I expect batsmen to play him better tho..they have a head start by knowing he bowls back of a length all the time or bouncers.. we have to give Wagner credit tho because he bowls bouncers that take a lot of energy out a bowler and to bowl it cosistently says to me that he is a workhorse.

In reply to Devvvvvvv

Yes and it's not mindless.

As I pointed out, the Bangladeshis tried it to him and got licks. It takes skill to bowl well directed short stuff over after over.