[EXCLUSIVE] "Pace alone won't make you a great bowler": Ian Pont

[The Bald Eagle]

In our latest exclusive interview, Ian Pont, renowned international fast-bowling coach and former Essex pacer, shares his candid and insightful thoughts on the current state of fast-bowling in Pakistan and across the world. With years of coaching experience globally, Ian provides a deep dive into the technical and mental aspects of pace bowling, highlighting challenges and solutions for the future.

Key topics include:

• Why Pakistan cricket should dominate with their pace bowlers: Pakistan has a rich legacy of producing exceptional fast bowlers like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar. Their ability to generate pace and swing has traditionally been a strength, but recent performances have not lived up to this legacy.
  
  
• Jasprit Bumrah’s unique action and what makes him so effective: Bumrah's unconventional bowling action, combined with his ability to deliver yorkers and unplayable deliveries, makes him highly effective. His style has inspired many young bowlers worldwide, including in Pakistan
  
  
• The challenges Pakistani pacers face with fitness and consistency: Pakistani fast bowlers often struggle with maintaining fitness levels and consistency in performance. This has led to a decline in their overall impact on the game
  
  
• How T20 leagues are impacting the development of young fast bowlers: T20 leagues can both help and hinder the development of young fast bowlers. While they provide exposure and experience, they also lead to overuse and a focus on short-form skills rather than long-term development
  
  
• The importance of mental resilience and desire in fast bowling: Mental toughness is crucial for fast bowlers to perform under pressure. Pakistani bowlers need to develop this resilience to compete at the highest level
  
  
• Why genuine pace bowling is on the decline worldwide: The decline in genuine pace bowling worldwide is partly due to factors like overuse, lack of depth in talent pools, and changing cricket conditions
  
  
• Structural issues in Pakistan cricket that affect player longevity: Structural issues such as inconsistent team selection and lack of support systems contribute to the short careers of Pakistani fast bowlers
  
  
• Strategies to produce and sustain top-quality pacers: To sustain top-quality pacers, Pakistan needs to focus on developing a strong domestic structure, ensuring consistent selection policies, and providing adequate support for player fitness and mental well-being.

 

[Farabi]

"Pace alone won't make you a great bowler": Ian Pont​

Mic drop.

 

[BouncerGuy]

This single sentence from Pont "Pace alone won't make you a great bowler" sums up the whole situation of the Pakistan team.

Our bowlers are so ignorant of skills that they just want to bowl fast and in this process, they forget the basics of cricket.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

"Pace alone won't make you a great bowler": Ian Pont​

Mic drop.

I think this has been a great indirect jibe by Mr Pont on Pakistan's pace factory.

 

[Hellion]

I think this has been a great indirect jibe by Mr Pont on Pakistan's pace factory.

Can't be a jibe, direct or indirect , at Pakistani bowlers . Pakistan's Test attack don't have any pace anyway

 

[Fenrir]

Can't be a jibe, direct or indirect , at Pakistani bowlers . Pakistan's Test attack don't have any pace anyway

Pakistan has 12 bowlers who have good pace but most of them either got injured or were not developed properly thanks to useless PCB.They didn’t play fc cricket.They play T20 only.In England two to three county seasons are good preparations for bowlers.

 

[LordJames]

Pace alone won't make you a great bowler​

 

[Farabi]

I think this has been a great indirect jibe by Mr Pont on Pakistan's pace factory.

Can't be a jibe, direct or indirect , at Pakistani bowlers . Pakistan's Test attack don't have any pace anyway

Our media and fans is obsessed and fetishize pace! It’s a jibe at a our entire cricketing existence.

When a bowler under 135 KPH does well, it’s because of “conditions”. When they don’t do well, it’s because they lack pace.

 

[bk19xsa]

The statement is true but where is the 'Pace'?

The only bowler in Pakistan team setup currently this quote works well with is Haris Rauf. Rest are fast medium to medium fast.

 

[Nasty Naz]

This single sentence from Pont "Pace alone won't make you a great bowler" sums up the whole situation of the Pakistan team.

Our bowlers are so ignorant of skills that they just want to bowl fast and in this process, they forget the basics of cricket.

This is where coaching & development comes in. You see raw talent coming up but it's up to the U16, U19, domestic etc coaches to mould that raw talent to meet the modern demands. I honestly feel like our coaches can't even fix delivery issues with our bowlers when you see some of the ways they release the balls. Pakistan bowlers are routinely called out for their illegal action too.

I bet if you took young Aussie players, put them in our system, most of them wouldn't develop the way you expect or get lost in the system.

There is simply systematic failures which continue to go unaddressed and as a result, Pakistan continue to fall further and further behind in the world.

 

[BouncerGuy]

This is where coaching & development comes in. You see raw talent coming up but it's up to the U16, U19, domestic etc coaches to mould that raw talent to meet the modern demands. I honestly feel like our coaches can't even fix delivery issues with our bowlers when you see some of the ways they release the balls. Pakistan bowlers are routinely called out for their illegal action too.

I bet if you took young Aussie players, put them in our system, most of them wouldn't develop the way you expect or get lost in the system.

There is simply systematic failures which continue to go unaddressed and as a result, Pakistan continue to fall further and further behind in the world.

it is not just about the young guns. Your main bowlers like haris, shaeheen, hasnain, naseem etc lose hope as soon as they started to get hit and they just try to bowl as fast as they can. Pace is not everything, you need brains to go with it and our bowlers lack those brains atm.

 

[baba ghazi]

but pace is pace yaar!!!!

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

People are mis interpreting what pont is saying:

"Pace alone won't make you a great bowler": Ian Pont​

Enphasise on the key words

great bowler"​

Big diffrence with saying you dont need pace to win matches.


Pace is a requirement at the Top level without a shadow of a doubt but with swing or seam movement.

The Legendary said years ago a 140 k plus bowler who swings and or seams the ball is lethal for any batter.

 

[Markhor]

it is not just about the young guns. Your main bowlers like haris, shaeheen, hasnain, naseem etc lose hope as soon as they started to get hit and they just try to bowl as fast as they can. Pace is not everything, you need brains to go with it and our bowlers lack those brains atm.

The problem is there's too a big gulf between our domestic cricket and international standards.

From the clips I've seen and as evidenced by the bowling charts, the FC pitches this season were green and seam friendly.

Combined with generally poor batting standards, it's no wonder average bowlers are taking wickets by the bucketload with little skill or thought needed.

It's easy blaming players but these are the products of our rotten system. And don't forget when we do produce promising pacers - their workloads are mismanaged and injuries mishandled.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

The problem is there's too a big gulf between our domestic cricket and international standards.

From the clips I've seen and as evidenced by the bowling charts, the FC pitches this season were green and seam friendly.

Combined with generally poor batting standards, it's no wonder average bowlers are taking wickets by the bucketload with little skill or thought needed.

It's easy blaming players but these are the products of our rotten system. And don't forget when we do produce promising pacers - their workloads are mismanaged and injuries mishandled.

Green and Seam friendly in domestics and then rank turners in international.

The bowlers making waves in domestic will get battered in internationally on completely unhelpful pitches and we won't have good spinners after the spin twin uncle retires because the domestic structure is unhelpful for them.

I doubt there is such a disparity between FC & test in any other international country.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Green and Seam friendly in domestics and then rank turners in international.

The bowlers making waves in domestic will get battered in internationally on completely unhelpful pitches and we won't have good spinners after the spin twin uncle retires because the domestic structure is unhelpful for them.

I doubt there is such a disparity between FC & test in any other international country.

Yep and a lot of that issue just stems constant changes of pitches, balls etc...
Nobody seems to know how any venue will play and that's not case around the world. You go to places like Australia/SA/England etc and everybody knows and understands how pitches are expected to play and their domestic batsmen grow up on these pitches.

It's simply not the case for Pakistan and they gotta find a way to close that gap. You have to have some semblance of consistency between domestic & international playing conditions if you want the batters/bowlers to succeed.

 

[FearlessRoar]

People are mis interpreting what pont is saying:

"Pace alone won't make you a great bowler": Ian Pont​

Enphasise on the key words

great bowler"​

Big diffrence with saying you dont need pace to win matches.


Pace is a requirement at the Top level without a shadow of a doubt but with swing or seam movement.

The Legendary said years ago a 140 k plus bowler who swings and or seams the ball is lethal for any batter.

I agree with you without swing and seam movement pace is useless, yet we have a bowler like Mohammad Hasnain in our ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

I agree with you without swing and seam movement pace is useless, yet we have a bowler like Mohammad Hasnain in our ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad.

Now is the time to back these players to retain the CT.