POTW : punter17

[MenInG]

An excellent and simple analysis for discussion about what Amir may be doing wrong.

Congratulations to [MENTION=144662]punter17[/MENTION] for POTW!

Amir knows how to swing. He has just got his basics wrong. And i feel people around him are jealous as they never will be achievers like him, so no guidance at all.

You get wickets with the swing. And Amir hasn't been able to get lethal swing so far apart from may be a few times after come back.

Conditions must for maximum swing:
1- Pitch the ball up.
2- Deliver close to the stumps like Wasim and Chaminda Vaas.
3- New Ball / Shiny side
4- Bowl Straight as swing doesnt have to cover the angle of delivered ball at all, to appear out of the way to batsamn facing.

What Amir has done:
1- Bowl short of good length or good length to save boundaries & have good economy rate.
2- Delivered ball away from stumps, unlike Chaminda Vaas or Wasim Akram.
3- Due to above, the ball always comes at an angle, and even if the conditions support swing, the large angle gets the better of swing, and ball appears to take it's line, and then he feels there is no swing, so he pitches the ball short.

Due to 2nd point, he wont be much successful against right handers. He slants across few deliveries to set up for in-dipper, but that ends up getting too leg sidish. Naturally, he knows that slanting would result in no swing, so he bowl straight but because he is already bowling wide of the crease, and delivering bowl away from stumps, bowling straight to right handers results in wide or leg bye.

While against left handers, he is more lethal, as lbw is in play, as he bowls wide of the crease. Also, since his release point is not close to stumps, bowling straight means giving width technically, which minimizes the chance of wickets.

Apparently he does that to avoid getting warned. But he needs to find a run up with which this can be achieved. See below for science:



If he continues to bowl the way he is bowling now, he will soon be replaced by somebody with the likes of Wahab or some random dude who doesn't know the art of swing but can bowl fast.

 

[hadi123]

Excellent post

 

[babajee]

Good analysis

Can you guys send this to him?

 

[rhony]

Excellent post. Even though most of the posters here know these already, the presentation was top notch.

Im sure Arthur and Azhar know this already. It's puzzling to see Amir not changing the length. If some one can analyze his wrist position, it would be great

 

[Saj]

Well done.

Interesting analysis.

 

[pakistani pride]

Then the question is why the .... is he not getting closer to the stumpd?!?!

What are mickey and azhar doing?

 

[world cup captain]

You've nailed it completely. He can swing the ball fine yet fails to pick up wickets as you stated. What amazes me is that no one has pointed out what he is doing wrong or it may just be that they are purposefully using Amir as a defensive bowler which would be the dumbest possible move they could make.

 

[giri26]

Good post and excellent analysis.

 

[Napa]

As an Indian the question comes to my mind: How is he so successful against the top-rated Indians if he doesn't have his bowling strategy right?

I personally thinks he bowls with a lot more passion when he is playing against India. Sporting Indians appreciate the challenge!

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Can someone send this to Azhar Mahmood or Mickey Arthur? I would love to know why he hasn't been able to follow these basic things.
[MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] @@MenInG

 

[punter17]

Thank you all for the kind words. I have been sharing several versions of the post which got awarded PoTW since I joined PakPassion. When I heard about PakPassion involved in interviews with players, I knew it i could at least help Amir realize what he can improve as a bowler.

I am myself a huge fan of Amir. I mean, who isn't here in Pakistan? He brings so much to the table. He is young, intelligent, skillful & a fighter. And it was so sad to realize that he hasn't been utilizing his full potential when he could do better. so much better, given he can swing the ball. Pakistan needs a swing bowler more than ever if we want to have some shot at big competitions, especially in World Cups.

As a bowling coach, Azhar needs to realize few things. Having a good economy is important. But wickets are more, as they win you games. And in the first 10-15 overs, that's what bowlers aim to do. That means aggressive bowling. Pitching the ball up. And be ready for batsman to drive it, as that would bring all kinds of dismissals in play.

My only purpose to share these posts is someone should at least bring this thing in knowledge with Amir (atleast) and then Mickey Arthur if possible.

Peace.