One of cricket’s all-time fastest bowlers says he wouldn’t have been able to play at top levels for 12 years under the modern workload.
Former West Indian speedster Michael Holding says too much cricket is taking its toll on fast bowlers and relatively young players like Brett Lee shouldn’t have to retire as early as they are.
“I know how difficult it was to maintain fitness and to bowl fast for an extended period of time,” Holding told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
“Although everyone is always talking about all the training that they are doing and they’re monitored so closely, you will get injuries.”
The answer to keeping fast bowlers on the field for longer, he believed, was simply less cricket.
“It’s just about monitoring them, about making sure that the workload is managed and see how long they can actually last,” he said.
Holding said it was telling that there were fewer super fast bowlers in the game in the modern era than 30 or 40 years ago, when every team had at least one outstanding quick.
“I’m not talking about somebody who just ran 30 metres and bowled a ball,” he said.
“I’m talking about somebody who bowled really fast.”
He was concerned the lure of Twenty20 would make Test cricket irrelevant as the highest form of the game.
“You have a young man here … Brett Lee – who I thought should have been playing for Australia for many more years than he actually did at the highest level – who withdrew from Test cricket to continue playing Twenty20,” he said.
“I don’t think that is good for Australian cricket or world cricket.”
Holding was joined in Canberra by fellow West Indies’ veterans Viv Richards and Joel Garner to promote the first games to be played under lights at Manuka Oval.
The West Indies play the Prime Minister’s XI at the ground on January 29 and face up to Australia in a one-day match on February 6.
phyll
Guest
For me I think Dale Steyn is the outstanding fast bowler in modern cricket and most accurate of them all, he's lethal and ruthless, he does the job @ hand, and he's consistent as well which most fastes lack. #develnamedDaleSteyn!!! #1!
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
Brett Lee was considered too expensive for a long time and had to work hard to make it into test cricket. When he finally did win a regular spot he became the spearhead of the Australian attack. He was a very good bowler and would have been considered a great bowler if he had played more test cricket. 76 tests for 310 wickets is a damn good record.
Brewski
Guest
Lee, has IMO aways been a bit injury prone, nopt only that, but i reckon a bit overrated as well. Perhaps i am a bit harsh, but not in the same class as Warne, Lillee, Thompson, McGrath etc
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Crap. Brian Statham, 19 year career (1950-1969) and 100 000 balls in first-class cricket, plus another 16 000 for England. http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/889/889.html
Rellum
Roar Guru
I would think the injuries have as much to do with the increased travel and the increase in the variety of the cricket played. Bowlers bodies are never given a chance to get into a rhythm of training and playing one format of the game for a decent period. I have the feeling you will see Pattinson and Peter Siddle make it through the season until the 20/20 stuff comes along as they have been focused on first class cricket. That said I do believe players are training the wrong way.
Shep
Guest
Funny, if you add up all the first class, ODI, test and twenty20 (for Brett Lee) both Holding and Lee bowled around 70,000 balls in their career.
Johnno
Guest
Funny Mikey says this. As I thought back in the 70's and 80's county cricket was really clocking up the overs of the west Indian bowler's and they seemed fine. It only seemed to be 90's thing that county cricket started to get flak for over bowling. Over bowling seems to be a 90's thing onwards ,, why not earlier i don't know. Maybe just maybe weight training is to blame. As it impact flexibility and stesses out joints. Hadlee didn't do weights and had a beautiful action. Mind you Dennis Lille got injured, Thommo hurt his shoulder. but all the west Indian quicks who played a lot of county cricket including Mikey Holding who also played for Tasmania they all seem to get through it. Beefy had some back problems too. But county cricket only seemed to cop flack in the early 90's onwards when guys like Waqar and Ian Bishop broke down.