Comments on: Magoffin next cab off the rank skippers say http://www.theroar.com.au/2008/10/14/magoffin-next-cab-off-the-rank-skippers-say/ The Roar is a sports opinion website. We tackle sports opinion rather than simply sports news. And we embed user-generated content — in the form of articles and comments — into the fabric of the site. Featuring some of the best sports writers in Australia — including the Sydney Morning Herald's Spiro Zavos — The Roar aims to be the leading sports website in Australia. Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:16:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Spiro http://www.theroar.com.au/2008/10/14/magoffin-next-cab-off-the-rank-skippers-say/#comment-80557 Spiro Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:58:22 +0000 http://www.theroar.com.au/?p=11446#comment-80557 This is an interesting point that Greg Russell makes. Most fast/swing bowlers fit into two major categories, bangers (like Glenn McGrath, Dennis Lillee) and skidders (Harold Larwood, Richard Hadlee). Height is the defining factor. Although Hadlee was over 6 foot, he did not leap and sort of bent his knees, like Brett Lee, at the moment of delivery thereby reducing the height of the release. I've just come back from the USA where I watched a lot of baseball going into the World Series finals. The thought occurred to me that if the Americans had taken up cricket in a big way they would have devised systems where certain bowlers, for instance, were selected for certain conditions. This brings us back to Greg's point. They would have picked taller banger bowlers for india and skidders for,say, England and NZ. This is an interesting point that Greg Russell makes. Most fast/swing bowlers fit into two major categories, bangers (like Glenn McGrath, Dennis Lillee) and skidders (Harold Larwood, Richard Hadlee).
Height is the defining factor. Although Hadlee was over 6 foot, he did not leap and sort of bent his knees, like Brett Lee, at the moment of delivery thereby reducing the height of the release.
I’ve just come back from the USA where I watched a lot of baseball going into the World Series finals. The thought occurred to me that if the Americans had taken up cricket in a big way they would have devised systems where certain bowlers, for instance, were selected for certain conditions.
This brings us back to Greg’s point. They would have picked taller banger bowlers for india and skidders for,say, England and NZ.

]]> By: Greg Russell http://www.theroar.com.au/2008/10/14/magoffin-next-cab-off-the-rank-skippers-say/#comment-80552 Greg Russell Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:38:50 +0000 http://www.theroar.com.au/?p=11446#comment-80552 One thing that was very clear from the first test in India is that the Australian fast bowling attack is not tall enough for those conditions, where the pitches are too flat for bowlers with an along-the-wicket style to prosper. Rather, a bowler needs to be tall enough, and have the right style, to exploit variability in bounce. Here are the heights of some bowlers, as given by Cricinfo: 2004 Australian pace attack in India: McGrath 1.95 m, Gillespie 1.95, Kasprowicz 1.94 2008 Australian pace attack in India: Lee 1.87, Johnson 1.89, Clark 1.97 2008 Indian pace attack: Ishant 1.93, Zaheer ?? It would be nice to have Magoffin, at 1.94 m, in India, wouldn't it? Incidentally, while the vertically challenged Zaheer would seem to disprove my point, let it be remembered that his dismissals were with umpiring assistance (Hayden in both innings) and otherwise were the result of reverse swing that the Australian fast bowlers could not match. India has never been a good place for pace bowlers who are under 1.9 m and who can't swing the ball much. One thing that was very clear from the first test in India is that the Australian fast bowling attack is not tall enough for those conditions, where the pitches are too flat for bowlers with an along-the-wicket style to prosper. Rather, a bowler needs to be tall enough, and have the right style, to exploit variability in bounce. Here are the heights of some bowlers, as given by Cricinfo:

2004 Australian pace attack in India: McGrath 1.95 m, Gillespie 1.95, Kasprowicz 1.94
2008 Australian pace attack in India: Lee 1.87, Johnson 1.89, Clark 1.97
2008 Indian pace attack: Ishant 1.93, Zaheer ??

It would be nice to have Magoffin, at 1.94 m, in India, wouldn’t it?

Incidentally, while the vertically challenged Zaheer would seem to disprove my point, let it be remembered that his dismissals were with umpiring assistance (Hayden in both innings) and otherwise were the result of reverse swing that the Australian fast bowlers could not match. India has never been a good place for pace bowlers who are under 1.9 m and who can’t swing the ball much.

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