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Somewhere in my attic, among the bags of old clothes and Christmas decorations, is a box of video cassettes.
I’m not so sure where I got it from, but it’s the highlights of Australia versus West Indies during the summer of 1992-93.
Without resorting to various Youtube clips, I can visualise Brian Lara announcing himself to a world audience with a sublime double century at the SCG, Craig McDermott being caught off Courtney Walsh at Adelaide with a series victory in touching distance, and Shane Warne delivering an early display of his ample gifts in the home win at the MCG.
Yet the standout few minutes on the tape are those which concern Curtly Ambrose’s decimation of the Australian order on a WACA trampoline.
Figures of 18-9-25-7, incorporating a scarcely believable spell of 7-1, need little in the way of hyperbole, but safe to say it was the kind of display that is all too rare.
The arrival on my desk at work of a review copy of Ambrose’s recently published autobiography – Time to Talk – coincided neatly with West Indies’ ongoing war of attrition against England in the Caribbean and all the more so given that Ambrose is on the hosts’ coaching staff.
It was a pleasant surprise to hear him give an informative and animated interview to Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain, a stark contrast to the virtually silent predator who caused havoc across the world.
It was the simplicity of the message he presented that stood out, and it’s one worth listening and adhering to in these days of over-complicated methods and styles.
Quite simply, Ambrose preached the benefits of a patient approach. Dry the scoring up, stick to a plan, give nothing away and the rewards will follow. This might sound like the ramblings of a man stuck in the past in these days of high-octane, instantly gratifying cricket, but tried and trusted wisdom shouldn’t be brushed to one side.
On the pitches being encountered by England as we speak, the very same which Australia are about to have to negotiate and the ones likely to serve the upcoming Ashes, it is a method that works and consistently so.
Pace is a decent asset to have in the armoury, but it isn’t the only thing. Ambrose could bowl quickly when it was required, as could Glenn McGrath who utilised a very similar approach, but perseverance and repetition were their weapons of choice and the threat of being able to up a gear kept those at the other end honest.
If the 22 yards in front of you negate the speed of the delivery to a certain degree, a factor that can be applicable when top-level batsman are involved, changing the emphasis from attack to an attacking kind of defence is a good way to go.
England get a lot of stick for their way of playing, but it suits what they have and the criticism is never really forthcoming when the results fall into place. The methodical way Australia bowled in 2013, without the pace of Mitchell Johnson, was quickly forgotten with the batting falling well short of standard and the series being lost.
The talk from some of those covering England’s current series is that James Anderson and Stuart Broad are down on pace and this is presented as a major flaw. But does a decrease in speed equate to a decrease in effectiveness? I would argue not, and we’re talking only a fraction slower here, if accuracy is maintained.
The majority would prefer to see highlights-style Test matches with boundary-laden innings and the ball flying everywhere at high speed but that’s wishful thinking most of the time. Those doing the planning, unless they’ve not been paying any attention, know this is a phenomenon that’s the exception rather than the norm.
Pace, in itself, won’t win in the Caribbean or in the Ashes for that matter, so prepare to dig in for the long haul.