Do we have a "no bouncer" policy now?

[Grunge101]

Seriously, cant remember a single well directed head high bouncer being bowled by a Pakistani pacer this whole match. We see the occasional waist high short delivery but nothing with intent.
Buttler and Woakes are right now milking the good length stuff.. Surely one of the geniuses in the dressing room can pass on that message. Get a short leg in and bowl some proper short stuff. Specially at Woakes. Im positive he wont be able to hook those away if theyre coming at 88mph.

 

[MenInG]

Seriously, cant remember a single well directed head high bouncer being bowled by a Pakistani pacer this whole match. We see the occasional waist high short delivery but nothing with intent.
Buttler and Woakes are right now milking the good length stuff.. Surely one of the geniuses in the dressing room can pass on that message. Get a short leg in and bowl some proper short stuff. Specially at Woakes. Im positive he wont be able to hook those away if theyre coming at 88mph.

And this on Woakes

He played the last short one nicely but Chris Woakes might be nervous about the bouncer here. Since the start of 2019, he averages just 10 against short balls in Test cricket.

 

[angrypathan]

Yeah very frustrating that Shaheen and Naseem haven't gone for the short ball. Don't see Woakes surviving against a well directed bouncer barrage. Equally frustrating are the lack of attempted yorkers.

 

[Grunge101]

I have no idea why no one in our long coaching lineup is thinking on those lines. Naseem can bowl a very good bouncer, as we saw against Warner and co in the Australia series. Shaheen was bowling at 86 plus mph last spell as well.
Both Buttler and Woakes are taking the bowlers on. Theyre unlikely to duck under them. Maybe they will get a few top edges away but surely one will lob up sooner than later. Specially Woakes.

 

[Majid Khan]

This is where having an attacking captain like Imran or Wasim made a big difference. They knew the importance of getting a varied attack where you could have someone keeping it tight from one end, while another bowler was given the role of attack at the other end and given instructions to go flat out and bowl with aggression.

Is there really much difference in the type of bowling by Abbas, Shaheen and Naseem in this game, apart from Abbas bowling his Line and length at 80mph while the other two do the same at mid to high 80s.

If instead you had a bowler there who came in short bursts and attacked, even if he went for a few runs he would unsettle batsmen and offer something different , where as the trio here are doing the same stuff.. trying to bowl as many maidens as they can.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Probably afraid of getting injured.

 

[Grunge101]

The pitched up ball becomes doubly effective when its paired with a short one. Thats exactly how Broad got Azhar (while bowling 5mph slower than Naseem) as was explained by Nasser Hussain.

 

[sweep_shot]

Surprised to see less bouncers. But, to be fair, pitches in England aren't as bouncy as pitches in South Africa or Australia.

 

[Grunge101]

Surprised to see less bouncers. But, to be fair, pitches in England aren't as bouncy as pitches in South Africa or Australia.

But surely it makes sense against the likes of Woakes. Specially when the length bowling isnt working.. They now need less than a 100.

 

[sweep_shot]

But surely it makes sense against the likes of Woakes. Specially when the length bowling isnt working.. They now need less than a 100.

Yup. They should try different things. Woakes doesn't seem that strong against short bowling.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

No bouncers to Woakes. Disgusting

 

[Grunge101]

Pointed out repeatedly by Akram and Hussain too in the com box.

There we go, first bouncer and nearly got a wicket.

 

[Majid Khan]

This is where having an attacking captain like Imran or Wasim made a big difference. They knew the importance of getting a varied attack where you could have someone keeping it tight from one end, while another bowler was given the role of attack at the other end and given instructions to go flat out and bowl with aggression.

Is there really much difference in the type of bowling by Abbas, Shaheen and Naseem in this game, apart from Abbas bowling his Line and length at 80mph while the other two do the same at mid to high 80s.

If instead you had a bowler there who came in short bursts and attacked, even if he went for a few runs he would unsettle batsmen and offer something different , where as the trio here are doing the same stuff.. trying to bowl as many maidens as they can.

Nasser Hussain has just said more or less the same on commentary, this is not the Pakistani way, they are all bowling line and length - they need to try something different , either bowl full or bang one in short.

It’s been pretty ordinary pace bowling in this 2nd innings to be honest , can anyone even remember ball hitting the pads and an appeal for lbw even from the pacers ? Never mind expecting a fast bouncer or Yorker uprooting stumps.. just doesn’t look like happening.

 

[MenInG]

Abbas bowling short .... Not what Nasser meant!

 

[Grunge101]

Nasser Hussain has just said more or less the same on commentary, this is not the Pakistani way, they are all bowling line and length - they need to try something different , either bowl full or bang one in short.

It’s been pretty ordinary pace bowling in this 2nd innings to be honest , can anyone even remember ball hitting the pads and an appeal for lbw even from the pacers ? Never mind expecting a fast bouncer or Yorker uprooting stumps.. just doesn’t look like happening.

Its bene ridiculously unimaginative. The good length ploy isnt working. Partnership of about a 100 now. We know Woakes really struggles against the short ball, MenIng posted relevant stats above.

 

[Majid Khan]

Its bene ridiculously unimaginative. The good length ploy isnt working. Partnership of about a 100 now. We know Woakes really struggles against the short ball, MenIng posted relevant stats above.

This is it and it’s tense situations like this where a captain has to show some boldness and take risk to make something happen - Azhar Ali looks like he’s content with the bowlers just bowling a good line and length , and being patient, and wait until the batsman makes a mistake. That’s not the Pakistani way, and you don’t have the luxury of a big total to defend , attack is sometimes the best form of defence in such situations.

Oh dear Misbah as coach and Azhar Ali as captain , these guys will take defensive and conservative cricket to another level.

 

[Energy]

You need to study batsmen to bowl them out. No one has the brain cells in the squad to do that. Shaheen, Naseem and Abbas giving them drive balls to get the nick rather than keeping it good length, tight is a sign of mental weakness.

 

[Grunge101]

They honestly dont deserve to win the way theyve played in the last 2 hours.
No one from Misbah, Mushtaq, Waqar or Younis can see something this obvious?

 

[Majid Khan]

It just makes no sense , and it’s not the first time , but even with the likes of Amir, Gul, Wahab who were all skilful bowlers in some ways but how does it happen that Pakistani pace bowlers can go through whole sessions in a test match wicket less and not even attempting a Yorker or a bouncer ?? Do they temporarily lose that ability , maybe they can’t do it at will, or they just simply forget ? In which case does not even the captain or any senior player in the team notice and have a word with the bowler to ask them to try a Yorker or bouncer, to test the batsman.

Or do they think every batsman from the opposition is that good that you must not take the risk of bowling full or short in case they whack you around the park. What a defensive and cowardly mindset to have if that’s the case.

 

[Grunge101]

It just makes no sense , and it’s not the first time , but even with the likes of Amir, Gul, Wahab who were all skilful bowlers in some ways but how does it happen that Pakistani pace bowlers can go through whole sessions in a test match wicket less and not even attempting a Yorker or a bouncer ?? Do they temporarily lose that ability , maybe they can’t do it at will, or they just simply forget ? In which case does not even the captain or any senior player in the team notice and have a word with the bowler to ask them to try a Yorker or bouncer, to test the batsman.

Or do they think every batsman from the opposition is that good that you must not take the risk of bowling full or short in case they whack you around the park. What a defensive and cowardly mindset to have if that’s the case.

I doubt either Shaheen or Naseem or confident or experienced enough to go to the captain and say thats the plan they want in place and they need a field to back it up.. Theyre still young, inexperienced and would be looking up to azhar/coaching staff to give them a plan to bowl at.
I have no idea how no one can picked up on this.. Not even Waqar or Mushi. Or is Misbah's presence so strong that he makes all the calls.

 

[MenInG]

Once again - we know this is the last day - draw is obvious but why not give a fright to England batsmen? Go bouncers short balls etc

Disappointing.

 

[MenInG]

We have speed at our disposal but we do not have an enforcer type bowler! Why is that?

 

[Sher Khan]

We have speed at our disposal but we do not have an enforcer type bowler! Why is that?

That is what Naseem Shah should be trained to become. He should be told to run in and take wickets like Johnson, and not worry about runs leaking. We have Abbas to contain.

 

[Thephenom]

It’s not even that, a few snorters into the ribs, a few balls clattering off the arms, a high full toss into the body, make the England batsmen dance around!

 

[as-95]

Once again - we know this is the last day - draw is obvious but why not give a fright to England batsmen? Go bouncers short balls etc

Disappointing.

Agree... need some body line stuff to scare the england batsmen...

 

[MenInG]

I will be very disappointed if we dont see any shot stuff today.

 

[Grunge101]

Theyre going to bowl length mostly with the new ball but we should see some short stuff later though the way its gone in the last two matches, i doubt we will.

Mind boggling really, considering we have the same bowling coach here as we had in Australia last year and Shah then was bowling 3 bouncers per over(which was actually too much ironically). He clearly showed he can bowl an express well directed bouncer; got Warner out ultimately fending off one at his throat.

 

[MenInG]

I mean watch Jofra Archer how he will make us dance.

Mind boggling from Waqar Younis.

 

[Grunge101]

5 overs from Shaheen, 4 from Naseem, not a single short ball yet.

 

[Grunge101]

First short ball of the day, into his 5th over and Root was all at sea there. Barely fended it off with his gloves. Nicked the very next ball.

 

[MenInG]

Seems no work done in this department at all!

 

[Savak]

Even Broad and Anderson bowl atleast 1-2 bouncers in the over to keep the batsmen guessing and to mess up their footwork.

 

[hitthestump]

Hope Waqar has enjoyed his paid holiday. Multiple stints in coaching capacities and yet another failure. Who on earth keeps giving him a job though?!

 

[ataullah]

I think when they tried to bowl bouncer it wasnt short enough ended up a long hop which wasim akram mentioned on commentary. They needed to bowl extra short on slow pitch to make it reach throat. Its waqars fault as these bowlers are too young to know what to do themselves. Abbas and Azhar should have explained to them...SAD day today

 

[Cric_lover4487]

They honestly dont deserve to win the way theyve played in the last 2 hours.
No one from Misbah, Mushtaq, Waqar or Younis can see something this obvious?

Naseem looks very promising but he lacks aggression and killer spirit. I am worried he might go Mohd. Sami route.

 

[Mamoon]

Who is going to bowl bouncers and target their heads? Abbas with his 70 kph thunderbolts or Naseem who can barely bowl above the waist with his height?

 

[Grunge101]

Yet again, nothing, nothing at all in the bouncers department.. Not from Shaheen, not from Naseem.

Im just utterly confused right now, they score more than 300 runs losing just 4 wickets and not once did we think of attacking them with the short ball.. Buttler for one, is very likely to have a go at them.

Same story as the first two matches. Looks like Naseems been told to bowl the magic delivery, angle coming in from wide of the stumps and then moving away off the pitch. Thats exactly what he was trying to do all day, throughout his 17 overs.

 

[MenInG]

And a feeble attempt by SSA to Woakes!

What is the issue here.

 

[Grunge101]

I dont know but maybe it has something to do with Waqar being the bowling coach. An exceptional bowler in his time but one that never had a killer bouncer. Rashid Latif mentioned this a couple of months ago on his YT channel when they were comparing Wasim and Waqar. Ive followed Waqar's career from the early nineties to the end and i would concur with that. Never really remember Waqar using the short delivery much or bowling a series of really good bouncers. And maybe thats coming into play now that hes mentoring two young bowlers.

In any event, this is his third stint with the team and its become abundantly clear to anyone with an iota of perspective that hes not cut for the job.

 

[Bhaijaan]

You have to be taghda and hoshiar to bowl good bouncers. While one could argue that apart from Abbass, the other two Pacers could be called Taghde but they are not yet hoshyar enough to nail good bouncer strategy like Cummins, Shami, Archer

 

[Grunge101]

 

[Grunge101]

 

[The Viper]

Archer is bowling a number of bouncers at a rapid pace. He hit Rizwan in the helmet with one of them. It is a shame that none of our bowlers really tried bowling the short ball.

 

[Savak]

I dont know but maybe it has something to do with Waqar being the bowling coach. An exceptional bowler in his time but one that never had a killer bouncer. Rashid Latif mentioned this a couple of months ago on his YT channel when they were comparing Wasim and Waqar. Ive followed Waqar's career from the early nineties to the end and i would concur with that. Never really remember Waqar using the short delivery much or bowling a series of really good bouncers. And maybe thats coming into play now that hes mentoring two young bowlers.

In any event, this is his third stint with the team and its become abundantly clear to anyone with an iota of perspective that hes not cut for the job.

Waqar in his prime could bowl that one fast heavy ball but he very rarely bowled bouncers frequently.

The disappointment is that even when the bowlers have pitched the ball up, the bowlers have not found any reverse swing

 

[shamaan]

Archer is bowling a number of bouncers at a rapid pace. He hit Rizwan in the helmet with one of them. It is a shame that none of our bowlers really tried bowling the short ball.

Archer only bowled 15 overs were naseem bowled alot more pluss they have 5 bowlers we have 4

 

[angrypathan]

Biggest disappointment in this tour has been the lack of bouncers from Naseem

 

[MenInG]

Biggest disappointment in this tour has been the lack of bouncers from Naseem

No idea what the Pak coaching staff would have told him to do.

 

[Shazzam]

Our bowlers wanna be acha bacha like the batsmen.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan bowlers need to check videos of Broad bowling to our batsmen to understand what it means to bowl bouncers.

 

[ethan hunt]

Morgan is suceptible to the short bowl and hard length deliveries against pace. Yet they kept bowling full.
Who is the genius analyst with this team.

 

[shamaan]

Morgan is suceptible to the short bowl and hard length deliveries against pace. Yet they kept bowling full.
Who is the genius analyst with this team.

Shouldn't the bowling coach look into the tactics or can this only be done by the analyst

 

[saeedhk]

Waqar Younis has to be the biggest idiot in the set up. He is the same guy who gave a lengthy report when he finished as our head coach. He pointed out all the mistakes, why didn’t he fix it?? Guys like him have no interest in improving Pak cricket, they’re just there for pay cheque. We have decent bowlers like Shaheen and Amir but we clearly don’t have a strategy. It is Waqar’s job to develop a strategy and the bowlers to deliver it. Now, the bowlers are just bowling aimlessly with no variation or strategy.

 

[aukhan]

If Azhar Mahmood was still our bowling coach then there would have been outrage after every over.
Waqar is a 3 times failed coach who should be discarded from the system for good.

 

[Hyder]

Lack of Bouncers

Hardly seen pacers trying or backing themselves to bowl a bouncer when things aint working.
Many time in crunch situations i think a good bouncer ll be difficult to hit than a mis pitched yorker.
Yes its not easy to bowl a good bouncer but as we saw today i would have loved a few bouncers at williamson while he was trying to play ramps.
Same happened with Pak against woakes. Why they always like to go full. Even when things aint working that way.

 

[MMHS]

Hardly seen pacers trying or backing themselves to bowl a bouncer when things aint working.
Many time in crunch situations i think a good bouncer ll be difficult to hit than a mis pitched yorker.
Yes its not easy to bowl a good bouncer but as we saw today i would have loved a few bouncers at williamson while he was trying to play ramps.
Same happened with Pak against woakes. Why they always like to go full. Even when things aint working that way.

Bouncer is the easiest ball to play, if it's ill directed or pitched at wrong spot. Bowling short, just for the sake of it is not bouncer - it has to be pitched at exact spot from where batsman receives the ball on the rise and threatening his throat; that sweet spot (length and line) varies with the height of batsmen, pace/bounce of the wicket and age of the ball - it's hell lot difficult to master and I don't think modern T20 products have that discipline to master that art; they are taught to bowl 24 different variations and get away without conceding boundary : 4-0-23-0 is like gold here. The best I have seen - Andy Roberts. Donald, Marshall, Ambrose, DK Lillee, Holding, Imran, Willis, N'tini ..were among the best exponents of short stuffs because they hardly lost shape, never wasted the new ball and hardly allowed batsmen to avoid in peace.

I have read enough about the lack of short pitched staff against Woakes - it's good that the bubble wasn't busted that day - if this loose cannon Naseem had tried to out bounce Woakes & Butler, game would have ended earlier. It's not that Shaheen didn't try just when Woakes came; but before he could get better of him, Woakes cut loose and put him out of attack. Misguided bouncers are the worst thing in cricket - on his first game at MCG 1976, Imran got excited with the pace & carry, and went for 0/115 in no time.... then DK Lille explained him how to use bouncers as a surprise element and it back-fired for Aussies the very next Test at SCG. I doubt, how many of PAK recent pacers have the time (& intelligence) to read these stories and take notes .... they are already superstar before playing .......

 

[Syed1]

Misbah told all the boys to play like good boys. Obviously playing respectfully and losing with izzat is more important than fighting hard and winning.


This is Misbah's brand of cricket for you. Pale, lifeless, bland and thoroughly un-Pakistani.



When will this shameless Misbah just get lost?