Batsmen don't see left-arm fast bowlers all that frequently, so having one to open the bowling is a priceless asset. Bowling from the other side of the stumps, he is coming at a different angle from the right-armer. He will therefore ask alternative questions and most batsmen feel they need to adjust their stance and guard. With no swing, his natural delivery, if pitched on the line of the stumps, will veer towards the slips. This is something the majority of batsmen just aren't used to.
Most left-arm pacemen can produce a ball angling across the right-hander. That's all very well, but if that's the only delivery a left-arm quickie can bowl, good batsmen will soon suss him out. They'll know that any ball pitched on line will veer towards the slips, missing the stumps and therefore not requiring a shot. The bowler, meanwhile, will have to land the ball outside the leg stump to hit the wicket, meaning he can't get an lbw (the batsman can't be out lbw if the ball pitches outside the leg stump). A few left-armers - notably Akram - can complement their natural angle with a ball that swings back into the right hander from an off-stump line. If they have this ball in their armoury, it makes them doubly effective. It immediately creates uncertainty. The batsman, not sure if a ball on off stump is the one veering across him or the one curving back into him, is obliged to offer a shot regardless.
Variations in swing
These sequences (below) show how difficult it is for batsmen to predict what a ball from a good left-arm bowler will do. The bowler is New Zealand's Shane O'Connor. He is that rare species, a pacy left-arm swing bowler (England's last equivalent was John Lever).
|
|
This sequence (left) shows a ball to Atherton on a full length, around about the line of the off-stump. He gets into a good position to counter the angle, but the ball swings back into him late, raps him on the pad and he's lucky to survive.
This sequence (left) shows a similar ball from O'Connor's next over to Nasser Hussain who, having seen the previous one swing in, prods circumspectly at the ball expecting it to come in but catches the edge instead as it holds its line.
Hard work
So there's a lot more to opening the bowling than merely charging in with a new ball and hurling it down the other end as fast as possible. There are days and pitches when the quicker you bowl, the quicker the ball tends to fly off the bat. And, in the modern era, if things don't go right, you can't wander off to the long-leg boundary and peruse your navel for a few hours, occasionally putting out a cursory size 12 to stop the ball from going for four.
|